


The Good Seeds

by Athaia



Series: Planet of the Apes: Hunted [3]
Category: Planet of the Apes (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fan Reboot, Friendship, Gen, On the Run, Post-Apocalypse, Slavery, Survival, episode based
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-11 22:59:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11724357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Athaia/pseuds/Athaia
Summary: On the run from Urko’s search parties, Galen sprains his ankle, and the group needs to find shelter to allow him to heal. A gorilla farmer takes them in, but the farmer’s oldest son is hostile to the humans, and the situation comes to a head when the farmer’s prized cow suddenly falls ill...





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the original screenplay by Robert W. Lenski
> 
> In the tv series, the gorillas were the thugs and the chimpanzees were the civilized middle-class. Since we've learned a lot about gorillas and chimps in the meantime, I've taken the liberty to adjust their respective roles in my pota stories.  
> But Urko is still the same old badass gorilla he was in the seventies ;-)
> 
> Many thanks to my betas Valwenel and hollyash, and to my awesome beta Nay, who patiently slogged through the story yet again, to catch the last bugs!

This wasn't the same forest, and this wasn't the same night, and this time they _knew_ that hairy bastards were after them, and still... Burke couldn't shake the feeling that Iro was walking silently beside him, just a few feet off the trail. He wondered if Virdon was having the same kind of flashbacks... if he was also in the shadowy company of a ghost.

Well... he couldn't ask him right now - Alan was leading their little campaign, while he was guarding the rear, making sure that the city kids didn't get lost in the shrubbery - and Al would probably deny seeing ghosts, anyway. Burke tried to shake off that image, focusing once more on their group.

The apes were holding up surprisingly well; neither of them complained, not even after Zana had started to limp. If getting caught meant certain death, blisters suddenly moved way down on one's priority list. Burke had inspected them while they were resting undercover during the day, and then tightly bandaged the foot. „Don't try to open them," he had warned her, „they'll only get infected."

They had risked using the road during the first night, to cover their tracks and quickly get some distance between themselves and Urko's hunting parties, but from their hiding place in the underbrush they had heard the rapid clatter of hoofbeats on the road: messengers to the prefectures, or patrols already searching for them. The general must have concluded that they had somehow managed to slip past the gates. Some people's asses were currently being roasted; Burke didn't feel in the least sorry for them.

He had fallen asleep not long after that satisfying thought; Virdon had taken first watch. The last thing Burke remembered was Al reassuring the apes that as long as everyone kept their cool and didn't move, chances were slim that the patrols would notice them. Sure, the clothes that Galen had repurposed for them from his father's house slaves were a bit too colorful for camouflage, but their blankets made up for that, after rolling them in earth and leaves a bit. And right now, they were just shadows, anyway; at night, it wasn't sight that could betray them to the enemy, but sound. Luckily, the frequent rains had drenched the woods so thoroughly that there were no leaves or twigs to crunch and he was almost as silent as Virdon.

He suddenly bumped into Galen - they had come to a halt again, so that Al could check his compass. Burke shook his head as he recalled how Virdon had fashioned that thing in Yalu's house from one of Ann's sewing needles. It was a story you'd tell your kids, assuming you lived long enough to have them...

They had been sifting through the contents of the cabinets in the living room when Al had suddenly stilled, his eyes intent on one of Ann's robes.

„Do you think your mother will miss this, Galen?" he asked and plucked something from its folds.

Galen bent down to look at it and shrugged. „I don't think so - but what do _you_ need it for? To sew a button back on?"

Virdon smiled. „Ah, you'd be surprised how quickly your clothes will wear in the wilderness; you won't scoff once I mend that rip in your trousers, Galen, but actually I had thought of using it as a compass needle."

His good mood fell when he tried the needle on a fork - it didn't catch on the metal. „Most needles are already magnetized," he murmured, and asked for the rest of Ann's sewing kit. But none of the needles was magnetic, and while the apes recognized magnetite from his description, the household didn't have any; apekind had no practical use for them.

„Seems you're out of luck, Al," Burke had said, impatient to leave the house before the guard's relief arrived and discovered his comrade out cold in the bushes. But he should have known better by now - once his commander had set his mind on something, his stubbornness put a mule to shame.

„I know it's a bit much to ask, but... do you think she'd miss one string of that lyre, too?" Virdon pointed at the instrument hanging on the wall.

Galen frowned. Hell, they _all_ frowned.

„She wouldn't - it's mine." He ignored Burke's and Zana's amused and surprised glances, unhooked the instrument and handed it to Virdon. „But now you _have_ to tell me what this is all about!"

Instead, Virdon turned to Burke. „Did they still have that project at school where you magnetize a needle with a battery?"

Burke shrugged. „Not at my school. And I don't think they have batteries here."

Virdon grinned and began to wind the metal string of the lyre around his little finger. „You're sure? - Zana, do you have a wooden comb?"

„Maybe I have," Zana said, torn between annoyance and curiosity. „It depends on what you need it for..."

„I want you to comb your hair until it stands on end," Virdon said, and Burke started laughing.

„That won't work, Al - you need _moving_ electrons!"

„And as soon as she touches the coil," Virdon held up the string that now would never produce another tone on that lyre, „those electrons will move. You never buzzed someone after rubbing your socks on the carpet? We only need a tiny spark, Pete," he added when he saw Burke's skeptical face. „Trust me. I've done this before."

Burke was still surprised that the thing worked as it did, but without it, they'd never been able to put that much distance between themselves and the apes on their tail: without something to keep you on a straight track, traveling through these woods by night would be hopeless. If their pursuers weren't smart enough to set up camp for the night, they'd be going around in circles right now - even without the clouds obscuring the stars, you couldn't see much of the sky through the canopy to begin with. As it was now, they could get a whole night's worth of a head start, and if the apes were up to it, they could keep that distance and probably even add to it, if they continued to walk through the next morning, at least. Maybe, just maybe, they could outrun Urko after all.

Good thing the committee hadn't been interested in Al's bargain. It had been a bad idea to even offer them their knowledge and tech. Of course, if Zaius had agreed to it, they wouldn't be running for their lives now...

No, fuck that, it _had_ been a bad idea. They'd be sitting in yet another cage, spilling all their secrets. Perhaps not a cage with visible bars, but he'd bet that they'd never have been allowed to leave the city. It was just a shitty planet full of shitty options.

Yeah. _Their own_ shitty planet, in some shitty future. And he couldn't even tell Al about it.

Something crashed through the bushes behind him, jolting him out of his depressed musings. It was some distance away, but judging by the intensity of the snaps and cracks, it had to be something big. Worse - _several_ big somethings. And they were moving in their direction.

Fast.

The others had heard it, too. For a moment, everyone froze on the trail, heads turning like frightened deer. Then Virdon's hoarse whisper chased them off the path:

„Downhill, look for cover - try to stay together!"

How had the patrol found them? Virdon's lamp? But the thing was shuttered... Burke slipped, caught his balance at the last moment and stumbled further downhill, holding up his arms before his face to protect his eyes from jutting branches, until he managed to catch on a trunk to stop his momentum. They had to find a spot to lie down and be _silent_ before the riders caught up with them. This tree here didn't seem too bad...

He slowly crouched down in the underbrush. Thank god that the apes didn't use dogs. He hadn't yet found out why, but he remembered now that he hadn't seen any of them in the city, either.

Not everyone remembered Al's wilderness lessons - he could still hear someone thrashing through the thicket, then falling down with a choked cry. That had sounded like Galen. Well, at least now he was silent. Burke hadn't yet decided how he felt about the latest addition to their group, but he still hoped the silence didn't mean that Galen had found the pointy end of a dead branch in his panicked flight.

_Shit. Better make sure he hasn't._

The stampede uphill seemed to move away from their position, and after another moment of tense listening, Burke crawled over to where he had last heard the young ape.

Galen lay on his side, clutching his leg. To Burke's grudging approval, he didn't make a sound, but his labored breath indicated that he was in pain. Burke quickly moved to his side.

„What's the problem, Galen?" he whispered, feeling for the ape's hands. What exactly was he clutching - the knee? The ankle.

„I slipped and... twisted my ankle somehow," Galen gasped. „It hurts... badly. Really badly."

_Shit, shit, shit._

A quick examination revealed that the ankle was already swelling. Burke sat back and rubbed his face, grateful that the darkness hid his features. He was willing to bet that his fear and frustration were clearly written on his face.

Zana's footsteps came closer, and then Virdon's voice startled him. Damn. That man could move silently.

„I think it was a false alarm - probably a herd of deer that got frightened by something. I'm sure the patrols aren't even trying to follow us by night, but... better safe than sorry."

„I _am_ sorry right now," Galen moaned. „I think I broke my leg."

 _„What?"_ Virdon quickly crouched down and repeated Burke's examination, this time accompanied by lots of moans and cries from Galen. Finally, he let go and sighed. „No, I don't think you broke something, Galen - but you at least sprained your ankle. Let's hope the ligaments are just stretched, and not torn."

„Great," Burke muttered. „Can you stand up?"

He helped Galen to get up, but as soon as the ape tried to make a step, he broke down again with a cry. It was clear that he couldn't put any weight at all on that foot. This time, Burke didn't try to keep his curses silent. Zana held Galen and whispered something in his ear. Probably told him not to listen to the bad man. Burke exhaled sharply and turned to his commander.

„What now?"

It was too dark to see Virdon's face, but his voice was heavy. „We have no choice - we must keep moving. We're too close to the city, and Urko has too many men at his disposal here: they'll turn up every stone in these woods to find us."

„You're not going to leave him here?" Zana asked, alarmed.

„What? No, of course not!" Virdon sounded surprised and annoyed. „Wait here."

„Not that you could do anything else," Burke quipped weakly as he sat down beside them. Something snapped with a loud crack in the bushes and he winced instinctively. Being silent had become his default mode lately.

„I'm sorry," Galen murmured. „You _should_ leave me here. I'll just put you all in danger."

He was right, Burke mused. Throwing him to the wolves would be the pragmatic thing to do.

Just not the honorable thing.

„We're in this together," he said aloud. „We're not leaving anyone behind."

Neither Galen nor Zana answered. Perhaps it wasn't the ape thing to do - or perhaps it was, and they were shocked that a mere human could have such an etheric thing like honor, too.

Virdon returned a short while later, handing two makeshift crutches to Galen. He and Burke still had to carry Galen uphill to their path, but once there, he was able to hobble along with them.

They crept on, much slower than before. At this speed, Burke thought darkly, their escape might end before it had actually begun.

* * *

When the contours of the trunks and branches began to separate incrementally from the darkness between them, and the specks of sky above the canopy turned from charcoal to slate, Galen threw away his crutches and simply sat down in the middle of the path.

„That's it," he said. „I can't go on anymore. Just, just leave me here." His voice sounded loud in the silence before dawn, and Burke instinctively looked over his shoulder.

The trees stood silent and unmoving as before; when he turned back, Zana was hugging Galen and urging him to get up again. „I'll take your backpack," she offered. „We'll rest soon, just a little bit further..." She looked up to Virdon, silently pleading for him to agree.

Virdon met his gaze above the apes’ heads. They hadn't made much headway since Galen had his accident; what little edge they had would melt down to nothing during the day, and the next night... Burke shook his head and turned away. He was glad that he didn't have to make the tough decision.

„Zana's right," he heard Virdon's voice. „We'll see that we find a hiding place where you can recover. Stay here for a moment and catch your breath, Pete and I will look at that map of yours." Burke heard Virdon's steps coming up behind him, but didn't turn around; best if neither Zana nor Galen saw the look on his face now.

„What's gotten into you?" he whispered when they were a safe distance away - whispered it in English, just to be sure. „Hide? Here, where we're basically sitting in Urko's hairy lap? You said it yourself, they'll be turning over every damn stone, log, sewer, and outhouse! There _is_ no place to hide and wait until his ankle isn't melon-sized anymore!"

Virdon's eyes were piercing. „So what do you suggest? That we leave him behind?"

Burke exhaled and shifted his backpack. „I don't want to leave him behind any more than you do. But I don't see how we can stay together and not get caught. I'm sure it'll make for a nice communal feeling if we're swinging gently in the breeze _together,_ but I doubt that's what he has in mind for Zana."

Virdon snorted and shook his head. „Do you really think for a second that _Zana_ would leave him behind? It's either all of us or just you and me." He watched Burke with an unreadable expression.

„And you'd come with me?" Burke played for time. „Leave them to their fate?"

„I'm still your superior officer, Pete. You're my responsibility," Virdon said calmly. „I'd come with you, yes."

Burke really didn't want to leave the ape behind, if only on principle; and he had come to genuinely like Zana. But more than anything, he didn't want to die.

And... he wasn't used to taking other people into account; not the way Virdon was, apparently. Burke felt that Virdon was putting him to a test he wasn't equipped to pass. He shook his head. „Whatever you decide, _sir,"_ he said pointedly.

Virdon held his gaze for a moment longer, then nodded. He pulled out the map they had lifted from Yalu's desk. „We should be here," he pointed, „at the western edge of these woods. There's farmland across that little creek - we'll try our luck with one of the farmers there."

That hadn't been the plan - they had wanted to stay away from villages or farms, but what had that guy Clausewitz said about plans? They get fucked up at the earliest opportunity, or something.

„So we'll hide in a barn and hope they don't poke into the hay?"

„No." Virdon folded the map. „We'll ask for help."

Burke stared at him, his deference to rank forgotten. „Urko has probably set out a hefty reward for us - they'll sell our hides for a new tractor in a heartbeat!"

Virdon shot him an ironic glance, probably remembering the „sir" a minute earlier, too. „A sprained ankle doesn't heal overnight, Pete, and with each day, the probability rises that we're discovered. Believe me, we'd get into worse trouble if the _farmer_ discovers us in his hay."

Burke thought that knocking out a single farmer gave them a greater chance of survival than fighting one of Urko's patrols, but as Virdon had just pointed out not too subtly, he had the last word in the matter, and Burke had been all too happy to let him decide. He just hoped that Al's faith in the apes' „humanity" wouldn't cost them their heads.

„All right, saddle up, Galen," he said with false cheer when they rejoined the rest of their group, „let's get crackin'." He pulled the ape to his feet and took up his position at the rear. Zana stared at him over her shoulder for a long moment, but her face was blurry in the shadows and he couldn't make out her expression; then she turned away and shouldered Galen's backpack. They resumed their crawl, birdsong springing up all around them as the forest awakened to the new day.

_This'll end badly. I just know it will._

* * *

When they reached the edge of the woods, the eastern sky was already paling behind them, the sunrise hidden beyond the treetops. Below, the silent bulks of farm buildings were brooding in the shadow of the hill they were standing on. Virdon thought he could make out a swing hanging from the lowest branch of a huge tree guarding the main house.

The deep moan of a cow broke the silence, followed by a rhythmic thumping. It was a strangely familiar sound... one he remembered from his childhood days. Virdon felt a smile tugging at his lips. „Someone wants breakfast down there. We better knock before the bustle starts." He started down the slope.

„Catch them by surprise, huh? Startle them into hospitality," Burke murmured, his first words since their little war council in the woods. His silence had been unusual, but when Virdon looked at him in the pale light, Burke’s face showed nothing but weariness. Maybe a little optimism was too much to ask from him. Pete didn’t trust the apes any farther than he could throw them.

Unsurprisingly, he hung back when Virdon knocked at the door, catching Galen under the arm before the ape could break down again in the yard. Virdon eyed him with concern: the chimp looked sick and exhausted, his muzzle scrunched up in pain. It had been the right decision to seek shelter; surely the apes wouldn't send away one of their own who was so clearly in trouble...

The door was thrown open all of a sudden, and Virdon jumped back in surprise. The next moment, a gorilla stepped out into the yard, shaking a flail at him. „Get off my yard, you filthy piece of thieving, disease-spreading crop demon!“

Virdon held up his hands and stumbled back in a hasty retreat. Behind the gorilla, more faces gaped at him from the dark doorway - the farmer's family. Virdon thought he could see a knife glinting in the morning light. „Please sir, we need help. This ape here,“ he gestured at Galen, who still hung onto Burke, „is injured and can't walk anymore. You wouldn't deny your hospitality to another ape, would you?"

The gorilla hesitated; after a last wary glance at Virdon, he turned his head to survey their group as if he'd only noticed them now. His eyes narrowed when he saw Burke, but at the sight of Galen, he finally lowered the flail. Virdon allowed himself a tiny sigh of relief.

Which turned to alarm when the gorilla made a step in Burke’s direction and half-raised the tool again. „Did these creatures hurt you? Are you their prisoner?"

„No... no!" Galen groaned. „I slipped and broke my ankle! Please, I need to sit down!"

Zana stepped in and took over the reins. „Good man, these humans are ours, and they have tried to carry their master as long as possible, but as you can see, we are all at the end of our rope. Please, if it's at all possible, we need some rest. We'd also be content with sleeping in your barn..."

„That's out of the question!" One of the faces in the door stepped out into the yard and became a plump woman in a plain dress, arms akimbo. „Polar, put that thing away before you hurt someone! Anto, help your father carry that poor man into the kitchen. Remo, get some fresh water! I'll look after your wound," she said soothingly to Galen as he hobbled past her. Then she patted Zana on the back and led her inside. „You sure look worn out, you poor thing. Have you hurt your feet? You're limping..."

Suddenly, they were alone in the yard. Burke scratched his jaw. „So...," he said slowly. „That went better than expected." He gestured towards the door. „Do you think they expect us to follow? Faithful dog-like?"

Before Virdon could answer, the door flew up again, and a younger gorilla - the one who had helped to bring Galen into the house - stomped down the two steps and stormed past them. Both men stepped back to let him pass: the young ape was almost as tall and already as bulky as his father, and his expression was as dark as the clouds that gathered every afternoon.

„Come on," the ape snapped. „Father said you sleep in the barn."

The men exchanged a look, then turned to follow him.

„So, not faithful dog,“ Virdon heard Burke mutter behind him, „mangy dog. I have a bad feeling about this idea of yours, Al - this one here will sell us out first chance he gets. "

Virdon didn't answer, but he wasn’t so sure of his plan anymore, either.

* * *

Anto shooed them into a corner of the stable and pointed at the naked floor. „Stay there. If you touch something, or steal something, I'll set the patrol on you!" He turned to go.

Virdon frowned when he inspected the spot; daylight fell through the wooden planks, which were so far apart that he could easily look through the gaps. Outside, the sky was overcast again; they would be out of the rain, at least, but both men shivered in the cool air blowing through those gaps.

„Do you mind if we cushion this up with a bit of straw?" Burke dared to ask. „It's a bit windy here..."

 _„No!"_ In a second, Anto was only inches from his face. Virdon made a step towards them, ready to lend a hand if things escalated.

Burke backed into the wall. „Whoa there..."

„The straw and the hay are for the cow! You don't soil it and make her sick! Stay away from the straw! And stay away from the cow!"

„Okay, I got it, I got it! No straw!" Burke held up his hands - this was quickly becoming their standard gesture whenever they met apes - and tried a smile. The gorilla just stared him down for another moment before he turned away again and left. The barn door banged shut behind him.

Burke let his hand sink slowly to his sides again. „Wow... that escalated quickly."

He’d need to keep an eye on the farmer’s son, Virdon thought; for whatever reason, the young man regarded him and Burke as intruders he wanted to get rid of. The cow was probably just an excuse.

Right now, there was nothing they could do about it, except to stay away from the cow. Virdon crouched down and unclasped his blanket from his backpack. Burke followed suit and a moment later they were huddled down with their blankets around the shoulders.

„Wonder what's going on over there," Burke murmured.

Virdon shrugged. „It depends on what kind of story they come up with. It's in their hands now."

„You haven't talked about that with them?" Burke sounded incredulous, and Virdon winced.

„I didn't even think of it - I guess I just assumed that I would be having that conversation," he said, embarrassed.

„Yeah, better get used to that - we're on the bottom of the food chain here. Our lodgings should clue you in." Burke’s voice held no annoyance over his mistake; Virdon heard him shuffle around under his blanket, trying to find a comfortable position.

„Do you think he'll rat us out?" Burke didn't need to spell out who he meant.

Virdon was trying to find a sleeping position, too. „Let's hope he respects his father too much for that." He stilled. _So that’s how I’m leading my people to safety? By counting on the decency of the apes and hoping for the best?_

For a moment, he just felt exhausted; bone-weary. He had no idea how to get through the next day, let alone the endless string of days stretching before him, with no clear path to follow, no safe haven to guide their journey.

Burke snorted. „Well, I guess we'll find out soon enough." He rolled on his other side, then sat up again all of a sudden. „Oh, fuck that!" He grabbed his gear and wandered over to the box where the gorilla's joy and pride lay, chewing her hay. „Hello, sweetheart," Virdon heard him say, „mind if I crash here?"

_You just have to yank that gorilla’s chain, do you?_

But the corner was cold, and drafty, and the floor was hard as stone, and before he could talk himself out of it again, Virdon had grabbed his gear and wandered after him. Burke was leaning against the cow, catching her floppy ear.

„I don't think that's a good idea," Virdon hesitated at the door. „That gorilla is already hostile, and provoking him like that won't help our cause."

If he had hoped that Burke would take the hint and talk him out of camping with him in the box, he was mistaken. „I'm not touching... ok, _now_ I'm not touching his precious cow anymore, see?" Burke held up his guilty hand, now a safe distance away from the animal's head. „And I can't soil that straw any more than Bessie here already has. At least it's _warm_ here, Al - and I'm so damn tired that I don't give a fuck about whatshisname's hang ups." He dropped his backpack on the floor and flopped down into the straw.

Virdon stared down at him for a long moment, all the reasons not to push their luck on his tongue.

Then he joined him.

The cow's body was like a heat blanket; even without touching her, Virdon felt himself relax as he bathed in the warmth she radiated. Even the smell was warm and soothing somehow.

„We can set up a watch," Burke’s voice was heavy with sleep, „'n get out before he sees us. You're first..."

He didn't even hear the rest of it anymore.

* * *

 

„What were you doing out in the woods at this time of the night? Got lost?"

Galen sighed with relief as Yantes wrapped a cold, wet bandage around his swollen ankle, and used his reaction to her ministrations to ignore Polar's blunt inquiry for another moment. The pain had made it impossible to focus on anything but the next step, the ache under his arms from the pressure of the crutches, and his exhaustion. He was still too exhausted to think straight, and cast around helplessly for a credible story to satisfy the man and his wary son.

„Oh, it was so terrible in the woods at night," Zana cut in, realizing his confusion, „I couldn't see a thing, and there were _noises_ in the bushes... you said it was a shortcut, darling, and see where it got us! - But it's only fitting that our journey ended that way," she continued sadly, ostensibly speaking to Yantes, „after all the ill luck we were having lately."

Yantes put another soaked bandage around his ankle and clucked her tongue compassionately, encouraging Zana to go on.

„We lost everything," Zana said with a trembling voice, and Galen wondered how much of her distress was really just an act, „our home, our future - and it wasn't even our fault. Yuma here," she patted his arm, „had been offered a fantastic deal by some orangutan gentlemen. It sounded like a great investment, and we put all our money in it... we even took a loan on our house, it seemed to be such a sure thing!" She shook her head and covered her eyes for a moment.

„Ha," Polar grumbled. „I think I know how that turned out!"

Zana put her hand down and sighed heavily. „I don't know the first thing about money and all those business dealings," she claimed, „but if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. We lost all our money, and the house, and we still have debts! They were carrying our belongings out of the house under our very noses!"

Galen decided that it was time to contribute something to the story. It wasn't as if he'd never spun a tale before... and Zana's setup was pretty good. „There was nothing I could do, Mila, the law was on their side." He tried to sound at once chagrined and defensive. Then he met Polar's gaze. „We had to leave, to try to make a new start somewhere else. Mila has family up north, and we hope they'll take us in until I've found my feet."

„But why stumble through the hills in the middle of the night?" Yantes wondered. „You could have twisted your neck instead of your ankle."

„Yes... well..." Galen stuttered, „It's because of our humans."

„Your humans?" Polar's eyebrows knitted in disapproval. „You shouldn't put yourselves through that kind of trouble for those creatures."

„They wanted to confiscate them, too, and these humans are our capital," Galen protested, warming to his story. „Without them, I wouldn't know how to open a new business up there. They're hard workers, they're well trained, and they obey without making a fuss - do you know how difficult it is to obtain a human with all those qualities?"

„No," Polar said gruffly, „I can't afford humans. That's just for _noble_ apes."

„Well, I'd be more than happy to leave them to you for use as long as I can't walk," Galen offered hastily, cursing himself for his blunder. „That way, I could at least compensate you somewhat for your inconvenience."

He could see that he had struck a nerve with his offer; the farmer leaned back and regarded him thoughtfully, turning the deal over in his head. Galen hoped he didn't remember Zana's pithy remark about deals that sounded too good to be true.

„The gentry is all the same everywhere," Yantes tutted while she fastened the last - now dry - bandage around his ankle. „They take everything and make you pay for it, too! We know how it is, don't we, Polar? Every year they come and want more taxes, and every year they threaten to take the farm if we can't pay up! Who's gonna pay the taxes when no gorilla is left to work on his farm? Who will then plough the soil? The chimpanzees? I don't think so!" She flicked an embarrassed glance to Zana, remembering what her guests were, but Zana just nodded in commiseration.

„So I can put your humans to work like I see fit?" Polar asked. „Work them like I need it?"

„Yes, they're all yours," Galen nodded - and hoped the humans wouldn't rip his head off for that generous offer. „Just... they're not used to being beaten, and I doubt they'd react well to it," he added quickly. „But it won't be necessary at all, just, just tell them what to do. They are very intelligent!"

„Ha! Intelligent humans!" Polar muttered. „What's next? Vegetarian chimpanzees?"

„As a matter of fact, some friends of mine..." Galen began, but fell silent when Zana put her hands on his arm.

„Thank you so much for putting up with us," she stressed. „We will try to be out of your hair as quickly as possible."

„Now, no talk of that, you're just arrived and your husband here won't be using that foot for a while, that's for sure," Yantes said resolutely. „You go to bed and sleep for a bit - you look as if you're asleep already." Both she and Polar insisted that he and Zana take their bed - they would cram with their sons in the other room in the meantime.

„You are quite the storyteller," Galen muttered under his breath when they were alone. „I'm impressed... and a bit disturbed."

„You weren't so bad yourself," Zana scoffed and sat down on the couple's bed to unwind Peet's bandages around her feet. She sighed with relief when the last one came off, and wiggled her toes; Galen winced in sympathy when he saw the weeping blisters covering her feet.

„Well," he conceded, „I might have told a story or two to get around my father's more unreasonable orders... it's not a talent I'm proud of, but it does seem to come in handy lately. I just hope our story was convincing enough that he won't give us away to the patrols."

„Do you think they'll come here?" Zana asked, her dejected voice telling him that it wasn't really a question. He leaned over from where he sat on the bed and put an arm around her shoulders.

„Sooner or later, they will. I just hope my ankle will be healed and we'll be gone before they put Polar to the test."

* * *

Burke was jolted awake by a sharp pain in his side. He sat up with a start, finding himself on eye level with a rusty pitchfork. Much too close to his eyes! He jerked back and bumped into Bessie's gloriously warm flank.

„Hey!"

„Up! Get up!" Anto was still jerking the fork towards his face, and Burke found he couldn't evade any further with the cow in his back. He held up his arm protectively. „Take that thing outta my face! You could hurt someone... me, for example!"

„Get away from the cow! I told you not to go near the cow!" Anto poked him again with the fork, this time in the shoulder.

„Dammit!" Burke rolled away from Anto and his cow, and scrambled out of the box.

Behind him, Virdon tried it with pleasantries. „Good morning..." He didn't have any luck with Anto, who kicked his back for good measure.

„I told you we should get out before he returns," Burke whispered to him as they grabbed their backpacks and retreated into their designated corner. „You had first watch..."

„I woke you when it was your turn," Virdon whispered back, watching the gorilla who had dropped the pitchfork and was now fussing over his cow.

„Huh. I don't remember that..." Burke peeked through the gaps between the planks. The sun was high in the sky; they couldn't have slept for more than a few hours.

„Then you were talking in your sleep. It's not important now, anyway." Virdon straightened up when Anto came over to them.

Burke rose, too, a bit slower. "What's it _now?"_

„Your master wants to see you," the young man informed them gruffly. „But you gotta wash up first. It's bad enough to have humans in the house, you don't need to bring your filth in, too. You reek!" He returned to his cow and began to rub her down.

Virdon sniffed his armpit and shrugged. „He's right."

„Eh, nobody's perfect," Burke snapped. He was getting tired of being chased, beaten, poked, and now, insulted. „Come on, I saw a well behind the house."

The water was icy enough to make him shiver, but by now the sun had warmed the air enough that he could stand it. He doubted it would help - they had no soap; but then no amount of soap would make Anto look favourably on them.

„What is it with this guy and his cow?" he wondered aloud. „He's really devoted to her... I mean, really, _really_ devoted..."

Virdon threw him a rag to dry himself. „She's heavily pregnant; the calf should be due soon. I think that's why he's so nervous. A cow is expensive, and if something goes wrong, they could lose both her and the calf."

„Yeah, but what does he think _we_ could do to his cow?"

Virdon shrugged. „We're humans - perhaps he thinks we're ill luck."

„Great - superstitious gorillas," Burke muttered. „What these apes need is another age of enlightenment."

„I doubt they even had a first one," Virdon remarked. He pulled his shirt over his head and missed Burke's wince. „Well - let's see if we stand inspection." He slapped Burke on the shoulder.

„I bet we won't," Burke murmured, following him to the house. „Not that it matters..."

* * *

They found Galen in the kitchen, foot propped up on a chair. The farmer's wife was heaping a late breakfast on his plate while Zana wedged another pillow behind his back, her own meal cooling forgotten on her plate. Virdon kept his eyes straight ahead, but judging by the noises coming from Burke’s mid-section, Pete was one grab away from getting them into trouble.

He hadn't really expected to be offered something to eat, but a tiny unacknowledged hope died inside as they were forced to stand before the apes like the slaves they pretended to be, all but ignored until Galen finally waved them to pay attention.

„Polar here has agreed to let us stay under his roof until my ankle is healed," he intoned.

„Thank you..." Virdon began, but Galen waved him to be silent.

„In exchange, he may use you for work on the farm, as he sees fit." Galen’s eyes bored into his in a silent plea for... understanding? Agreement?

Well, of course they'd agree - it would be insane no to. „Anything you say," Virdon assured Polar.

„You will work every day," the farmer pointed at them. „As if I could afford you!"

„Sure. We come cheap," Burke quipped.

„As if I _owned_ you!" Polar drove home his point.

Virdon nodded glumly. What a lovely world. Beside him, Burke shifted on his feet.

„I get one of them!" Polar's younger son piped up. He pointed at Burke. „One of them is mine!"

„Well, we'll see," Polar said indulgently. „One of the fences needs mending..."

„What? _No!"_

Virdon turned to see Anto standing in the door, apparently overhearing the last part of Galen's deal. Now he strode into the small room, shoving him aside. „They crept into the cow's box! They slept on her hay! They will make her sick and kill the calf! They are _filthy!"_

„We washed up..." Burke protested.

„Enough!" Polar banged his hand on the table. „I've made my decision. I don't go back on my word."

Anto clenched his fists, but backed down. „Alright... but the cow is my say!" He pointed at Galen. „Tell your humans to stay away from my cow!"

Galen watched with a puzzled expression as he stormed out of the room. He turned to Polar, who held up a hand in apology. „He's right about that. The cow is his say until the calf is born. And everyone knows that humans are bad for cows - they eat them, or steal their milk."

Galen glanced over to where they were standing. „You'll stay away from the young master's cow, understood?" he said imperiously. Virdon exchanged a look with Burke; they both faced Galen and nodded.

Their master turned back to Polar. „I'm not sure I understand this," Galen flapped his hand, „cow arrangement of yours, Polar."

Polar sniffed and shifted in his seat, ready to lay out the intricacies of the law for the clueless city ape. „See, Anto is old enough to start his own farm, and he's also set his eyes on Goru's little daughter - they're across the valley; but he needs his own bull calf to get his patch of land. Because how would he plough without an ox?" Polar leaned back and contemplatively sucked at his tooth.

„Five years our Anto has been waiting for a bull calf now," his wife cut in and shook her head. „Five years, and nothing but heifers! He thinks he's cursed... and that little Jilia won't wait for him much longer." She sighed and began to collect the empty plates.

Zana jumped out of her seat. „I'll help you, Yantes."

Polar snorted. „There's enough girls making moony eyes at our Anto, no need to pine after that one if she's so impatient."

„Oh, so if I had insisted on finishing my training, you'd have found someone else?" Yantes asked snidely. „If only I had known..."

„No! No..." Polar laughed and pulled her into his arms. „I'd never have found someone like you again!"

Yantes smiled down on him and tapped a finger on his nose. „And don't you forget it."

_"I have no idea why I put up with a man who has his head not in, but above the clouds all the time." Sally grinned at him over her shoulder, and he smiled and reached around her to push the pan with the charring eggs from the burner._

_"Because you are the most patient, forgiving, wonderful, beautiful woman in the world."_

_Sally slung her arms around his neck and they kissed; warm oil was slowly dripping from the spatula in her hand and soaking his shoulder._

_"And don’t you forget it," Sally murmured..._

„So," Burke said briskly and clapped his hands, and reality crashed back into him. „What're we gonna do today? Sow some seeds, drive the herd to the northern pasture?"

The apes looked at him strangely. Virdon coughed to hide a laugh. _Thanks, Pete._

Polar got up from his seat. „We don't have a herd. All the heifers go to the district governor, to pay off the debt." He eyed them. „You come with me," he put a hand on Virdon's shoulder and steered him towards the door.

„And you come with me," Remo grabbed Burke’s wrist.

Burke looked down into his gleeful little face with a strained smile. „Sure, boss."

A sudden clatter in the yard made them freeze; Virdon's stomach cramped up as if he'd been kicked. Burke looked up to meet his gaze, his features tense, a hunted look in his eyes that mirrored his own dread.

Just one horse in the yard. A single officer. They could...

„Oh no, they're coming to confiscate our humans," Zana's panicked whisper cut through the icy silence. „Now we're really ruined!" She held Yantes' hand in an iron grip. Virdon doubted that her panic was faked, even if the story behind it was.

„Polar, go out and send him away," Yantes ordered. „We're not helping them nasty chimp patrols out here. They're nothing but trouble anyway!"

Polar hesitated; for a moment, Virdon felt as if the whole room was swinging, balancing on the needlepoint of the farmer's indecision.

Then Polar's eyes fell on him, assessing his frame, and another fire began to glow in his eyes: greed.

„You stay here, and don't make a sound. I'll tell them off."

 


	2. Chapter 2

Outside, a single Chimp was eyeing the tree as if he expected to find a nest of wasps in it, his horse throwing its head up against the too-short reins. He was alone, which Polar found strange - usually, the prefect's men traveled in packs. Being outnumbered didn't do anything for the guard's attitude; the look in his eyes when they finally fell on Polar was as contemptuous as always.

Damn Chimps.

Still, it would do no good angering the fellow, so Polar ducked his head like the good citizen he was. „G'day, sir. You lookin' for something?"

The guard let his horse make a step towards Polar. „Two escaped humans, probably in the company of two Chimpanzees. The humans are males, the Chimpanzees, a man and a woman. You seen them?"

Polar scratched his chin, making a show of thinking. The horse made another step in his direction. From the corner of his eye, he saw Anto sticking his head out of the barn door.

„Nope," he said finally, „haven't seen anyone like that around here."

The Chimp urged his horse on for another step; now its nose was touching Polar's chest. Polar didn't move. It'd need more than one arrogant dimwit to chase him around in his own yard.

Anto appeared out of nowhere and set down a bucket of water before the horse; it began to shake its head so violently against its reins to reach that bucket that the Chimp finally let them go. He leaned on the pommel.

„You're sure about this? They should stick out quite a bit - two upper-class chimpanzees, fine robes, the woman has a silk scarf..."

Yes, the nice chimp lady had worn a green and yellow scarf; she had put it around Yantes' shoulders and exclaimed how brilliant it looked against her black hair. And it certainly had, Polar thought appreciatively.

„The humans have no brand, but some scarring on their chests. It's impossible to miss."

Polar heard Anto inhale and quickly said, „Told ya, we didn't see no humans around here. And no pretty chimpanzee ladies, either."

The Chimp didn't look convinced, but then they were all liars, as far as the guards were concerned. „Well, keep your eyes open. These humans are dangerous - they attacked the city council and almost blew it up."

Polar coughed to hide a smile. „Now tha's hard to believe. Humans? They can't find their own arse without an ape tellin' them where to look."

The Chimp jerked at the reins, clearly annoyed. „That's what the reports said. You don't want them humans creeping around in the woods around your farm - next thing you know, they come crawling through your window and kill you all in your sleep."

„Eh." Polar made a dismissive gesture. „We have clubs and corn knives. I'm not afraid of humans."

„Is there a reward?" Anto suddenly spoke up. The chimp turned his head as if he'd just now become aware of his presence, and Anto shrunk a bit under his stare.

„Well, now..." the soldier drawled. „You saw something your old man forgot to mention?"

Polar kept his gaze firmly on the horse. If Anto didn't use his brain now, they'd all be in trouble.

„No," Anto murmured. „I just thought I might look... if there was a reward."

The Chimp leaned down to him. „These humans are ape-killers, and anyone who helps or hides them - like these fools that travel with them - is regarded as an enemy of the state. Your _reward_ will be your feet continuing to touch the ground, if you get my drift." He straightened up and turned his horse around, forcing the gorillas to step back to avoid a collision with its head.

„You see a stray human, report at once. Don't try to catch them on your own; leave that to apes who know how to deal with them." He spurred his mount on and galloped away.

Polar turned to Anto and cuffed him on the head. „What in the white wastes has gotten into you, son? You want us all hanged?"

„We wouldn't have gotten into trouble if you'd just told him..." Anto protested as they turned back towards the house.

„You fool!" Polar growled. „You really think the prefect would've said, ‘oh, them poor Gorillas were taken hostage, it wasn't their fault'? They'd have thrown us all in jail for having them under our roof. You wanna see you poor mother in a prison cell?"

„Everyone would've asked for a reward," Anto said defensively. „It would've been more suspicious if I hadn't. And we could've used the money," he muttered. „The crop shrinks and the debts rise every year."

„Well, that's why I'm using them humans," Polar said in a conciliatory tone and put his arm around his eldest's shoulders. „The tall one looks like he can work all day, and he's docile, too. We'll get a lot more done with them. We'll work them to the limit..."

Anto shrugged off his arm. „And if a patrol sees you out in the field with him? They're not worth the trouble. We should kick them off the farm, now!"

Polar shook his head. „I offered Yuma my hearth and my help, seeing as the man is injured. An' he offered me his humans in return. We don't go back on our word here, Anto - if a man can't trust another's word, what is there to keep the world together?"

„But they're dangerous! Didn't you hear what the guard told you?"

Polar stilled, his hand at the door. „Do you really believe that story that they blew up the council house?" He chuckled.

Anto grinned against his will. „No... that would've been too good to be true..."

* * *

He had been right about the human, Polar thought, watching him hauling another boulder to the edge of the field. It was true that humans weren’t as strong as apes, but they had one advantage: they could sweat, cooling their bodies like no other animal could. A human could go on when an ape was already seeking shelter under the trees. Polar thought of the huge plantations in the southern districts, where rich apes enjoyed their lazy afternoons while the humans worked tirelessly under the scorching sun. _Those_ apes had made it - they didn’t have to worry about foreclosure during sleepless nights, didn’t have to worry what would become of their wives and sons in that case.

But them rich apes weren’t Gorillas, either.

That same sun was burning on his black fur now, although it wasn’t even noon yet, and he secretly envied the human who had thrown off his shirt an hour ago. He was sweating like a horse, his scars black lines against his reddening skin. He must've gotten dirt in the wounds before they had healed.

Polar sniffed. Those scars were striking, just as the guard had said. Well, the gent and his wife had been quite open about the fact that the law was after them, and now he had heard two different stories about the reason. The human didn't look like an ape-killer to him, but who knew? He was obedient enough, perhaps he'd kill any ape his master set him on?

Right now, though, Polar was his master, as per his deal with Yuma, and the human was doing his bidding. It was a rather pleasant feeling, and - Polar straightened and surveyed the row behind them - they were making quick progress. The field was almost ready for ploughing.

The human let the boulder fall with a thump and wiped the sweat from his face with his arm. „Rocks," he gasped, „No end to them. The earth keeps breathing them up, the plough keeps banging into a fresh stock every year."

Polar nodded. That's how it was. He wondered how a human kept by city apes would know of these things. Well, the human was at his disposal now, right?

„How do you know?" he asked.

The human set the water jug down with a sigh. „Oh, don't I know. I lifted half the rocks in Jackson County when I was a boy."

Polar shook his head. So he'd had a different master before. But that place... „You keep talkin' strange - there is no such place."

The human deflated a bit. He looked over the fields, but Polar doubted he saw Anto urging the ox on. „It's a far away place," he murmured. Then he shook his head and returned to the spot they were standing on. „That's not the best field you have there," he remarked.

Polar shrugged. „It's generous with the rock yield." The human snorted, and he grinned. „But we need it anyway. We need all the crop we can grow, even on such a poor patch of land ‘s this one."

The human crouched down and crumbled a bit of earth between his fingers. „Clay," he murmured, „it won't let the rain seep down quickly, and steep as this slope is," he gazed up the field, „I bet the topsoil's coming down with every strong rain, right?"

Polar nodded. „Nothing we can do about it," he muttered. „We gotta deal with what we've been given, good as we can."

„I'm sure you do," the human said. Polar tried to remember his name.

„But..." the human continued, a thoughtful look on his face, „I think there is something you can do about this field." He stood, wedged the jug between two stones and selected two smaller rocks. He carried them a few steps away to where the field made a sharp incline and set them down one over the other like steps of a stairway. Then he began to smooth the soil above and below them and returned for the water jug. Intrigued, Polar came over to his little installation.

„Look," the human said. „This is what happens to your field as it's now." He poured the water on the soil beside the stones, and it hurried down, as water on a hill is wont to do, creating a miniature river bed.

„See? You're getting gullies, and over time they get so deep that they steal your land... because you have to work around them. Now-" the human hastily put up a hand to keep Polar from telling him that he knew all that, of course, „if you use those rocks that this field is giving you anyway, and build some walls across the slope, like this, then you have a gentler incline between them, and the crown of the wall will break the water, like a basin." He demonstrated. The water ran down, but not as quickly as before, pooling behind the stone before spilling over, even slower now than on the upper portion.

„You won't lose your topsoil anymore, and the field will keep the water longer, so your crop can endure dry periods better, too." He looked up expectantly, waiting for Polar's approval.

Polar stared down at the miniature fields, the upper one still keeping some of the water, the lower soaking slowly, with no gullies forming anywhere. He could see it working, and he could see the logic in the human's claim that the soil would keep the water for the dry spells like a good wife kept her pantry stocked.

What he couldn't see was why anyone hadn't thought of this before.

„Playing in the mud? Is that your idea of helping us?"

The human startled and Polar looked up, surprised. Neither of them had heard Anto coming up to them. Now he was staring down at the human's model field, a mixture of scorn and anger in his eyes.

„Now, Anto," Polar said excitedly, „this human - what's your name again? - this human just had a fine idea how to keep the rain from flushing away the soil..."

Anto snorted. „He's just too lazy to carry the rocks off the field. He wants to convince you that we should just let them lie where they are." He kicked against the lower rock and the water rushed down in one go.

„Building a wall is even more work than just piling up rocks at the side of the field," the human protested. „But it's worth it - believe me, the field will be much more productive once it's banked up properly."

Anto sneered down at him. „Building that crap will take all spring - by the time we're finished, sowing season will be over. That means this field will lie fallow, and we'll be even more behind with paying our dues than we already are."

„There are lots of crops that grow quickly," the human pointed out. „Beans, sweet corn, summer squash..."

„Foolishness," Anto snapped. „You want to tell me how to farm, human? Perhaps I should ask our ox how to make hay, hm?"

The human fell silent; Anto straightened and glanced at his father. „You're not seriously thinking about this, pa?"

Polar was still eyeing the human's setup. Then he looked up to meet his son's incredulous stare. „I have decided," he said. „We will build that wall."

Anto threw his hands up in despair. „Do what you will, but I won't have any part in this! Someone on this farm has to make sure we have something to eat next winter!" He turned and stomped away, muttering under his breath. Polar looked down at his human who was collecting the rocks, his head down.

„He'll come around," he said soothingly. „It's just because he's so worried about his calf."

The human nodded, not looking up. Polar sought for a way to turn his thoughts away from Anto.

„So - what's your name again?"

„Alan."

„So, Alan, where did you learn all this?"

The hu... Alan tossed the rocks back on the pile and smiled wistfully. „My family owned a farm when I was a boy... they insisted on farming the old way..." His smile faded. „Didn't do them any good, in the end." He turned to retrieve the water jug. Polar put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

„Now, I can see how that idea of yours holds some promise," he said in a stern voice, „but don't you lie to me, Alan! Humans don't own farms; only apes do. I won't have you runnin' around, tellin' wild stories like that!"

Alan gave him a resigned look and nodded. Polar patted his shoulder before he let go.

„Now, get to work!" He gestured down the field. „The sooner we start, the sooner we can sow."

* * *

There were some life choices that Burke wasn't happy with in hindsight - such as not asking out Karen Lawrence in eighth grade - but not becoming a farmer wasn't one of them. He would never understand the glint in Virdon's eye whenever he mentioned the farm he grew up on, although he was grateful that at least one of them could find his way around here; without Virdon's crash course about rail fences before Polar had shoved him out the door, he would've had to build the thing after the boy's instructions, and probably gotten a beating for the result in the evening.

Oh yes, and not having children was the other life choice he didn't regret. The little master didn't carry a single log, but was under his feet constantly, haranguing him about how to go about his work. Burke did his best to ignore him.

Until Remo stepped into his path, grabbed the logs he was carrying over to the posts, and threw them to the ground.

„No... no! You're doing it wrong! Stop!" He drew himself up to his whole height (which wasn't very much). „I _order_ you to stop!"

Burke rubbed his face and fought to get his irritation under control. The little guy was enjoying his new status as slave owner a bit too much for his taste. Still, he had to play along. So he tried to reason with the boy.

„Look... boss, I can't work with you shouting at me all the time, see?" He gestured at his head. „Makes me all dizzy."

The boy pointed to the fence he had been building all afternoon, clearly upset. „That's the wrong kind of fence!"

Burke sighed. He was sure that it was exactly the kind of fence Virdon had described to him. He dimly remembered seeing that kind of fence during the only holiday they had spent outside Jersey City when he was a boy. They had looked about the same. He had no idea what the little jerk was objecting to.

„Well, give me a bale of barbed wire, and I'll build you a proper one," he said, secretly amused about the confused look from the kid when he translated the term into their language. „Right now, this is the best I can do."

Remo sighed theatrically and threw his hands up in the air. Then he grabbed Burke's wrist and dragged him behind the main house. He pointed with a grand gesture.

 _„This_ is a proper fence!" He walked over to the wattle fence surrounding what Burke supposed was Yantes' kitchen garden, and shook one of the poles for illustration.

„Poles stuck in the earth! And thinner branches woven between them! That's how you make a fence!" He let go of the pole and stared at Burke, expecting him to bow down to his superior engineering skills. Burke ambled over to the fence and leaned against it, causing it to angle inward at a dangerous degree. Remo pulled him away, alarmed and annoyed.

„See?" Burke said. „This fence is perfect to keep the chickens out of your mom's garden, but if ol' Bessie leans against it only once, it'll be down in the mud, and your cow will be all over the place."

Remo shrugged, still annoyed at Burke's demonstration. „Fences never last long," he said. „They're not supposed to."

Bure pointed at him. „That's where you're wrong, boss. Let me show you how." He started back to his beautiful rail fence, a grumbling Remo in tow. Burke bent down and shook a lower rail.

„Now take a rail fence like this - locked tight, bull strong - lasts a lifetime, and is pleasing to the eye." He felt like a traveling salesman.

By the look on Remo's face, the boy still wasn't convinced. Burke tried another angle.

„For instance... if you ever wanna move it... say, Polar wants it over there," he pointed to the far end of the field, „you just take it apart and put it together again." He pulled out the top rail and handed it to Remo, who was so surprised that he took it. Burke spread his arms like a magician who had just dazzled his audience with an especially amazing trick. „Voilà! This fence will grow on you, promise!"

Remo looked down at the log in his arms. „That's... neat."

„Isn't it," Burke drawled.

The boy looked up to him. „I've decided," he proclaimed. „It's a good job."

Burke bowed. „Thank you, boss."

Remo dropped the log. „Get back at it."

Burke sighed. „Yes, boss." He bent down and put the log back in its place. Remo tagged along as he wearily returned to the pile of split logs. The sun was still far above the horizon.

„Who taught you to build a fence like that?" Remo demanded to know as Burke lifted a log, then decided to add another one... barely. He straightened with a little ‘oomph'.

Well, technically Virdon had told him, but...

„Abraham Lincoln."

Remo thoughtfully kicked at a pebble as they returned to the now approved fence. „I'd like to meet this ape... Raham Lincoln."

Burke rolled his eyes heavenward. „So would I, massa... so would I!"

* * *

The sun had already set and the air was cooling quickly when Virdon returned to the farmhouse, caked with a mixture of sweat and dust, and glad for the opportunity to clean himself up, even if the water in the well was icy.

Burke had already stripped down; he gasped and shivered as he poured the bucket over his head. „Maybe tomorrow they can turn on the hot water...“ He shook the water out of his hair and handed the empty bucket to Virdon, who stiffly took it.

„What did Polar make you do?" Burke asked him. „Pull the plough?"

Virdon drew up the bucket with a groan. „We're terracing that field on the hillside," he said. „Polar hauled the boulders for the wall, and I've been digging ditches for drainage all afternoon." He scooped water into his face and sighed with relief.

„Now where did ol' Polar suddenly get the idea of building terraces all over his field?" Burke asked with raised brows.

Virdon grinned wryly and held up a hand. „Guilty as charged."

Burke grabbed his shirt. „Just goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished. You sure work for your keep, Al."

„They're hiding us from Urko's patrols. I felt I had to give something back for that. They need a bit of agricultural development if they want to keep the farm." Virdon shrugged out of his shirt and trousers and poured the bucket over himself just like Burke had a minute ago.

„That bad, huh?" Burke yawned and glanced towards the house. „Think we’ll get dinner now? We’ve earned it, right?“

The icy water took Virdon’s breath away, and for several moments, he could only cough and sputter.

„Yeah," he said hoarsely when he had caught his breath again. „They've been on the brink of foreclosure for years, and Anto is eager to break away from the farm before he goes under with it."

Burke rolled his eyes. „The bull calf."

Virdon grinned. By now, they were both fed up with Anto and his calf. „Apparently, as long as he can present a bull calf, he is entitled to get a patch of land from the district, which he then has to pay off over the years. Apes with good connections get the better plots and are able to pay off their debts in a few years. Apes without good connections..." He gestured towards the rocky fields.

„Seems like a crummy deal," Burke said absently, his mind clearly focused on more pressing concerns. „If I don’t get something to eat soon, I’ll climb through the kitchen window and steal something. Sure, I'd confirm all the prejudices against humans, but dammit...“

The door of the main house flung open and Remo came towards them, bent like tree in a storm under the weight of the bucket he was carrying. „Come on, you two," he called. „Aren't you hungry?" He vanished into the barn.

The men exchanged a look. Burke clicked his tongue and shook his head. „C'mon Al - feeding time. Better hurry before Bessie eats our dinner."

Remo met them when they entered the barn, already on his way out. „Don't go near the cow," he droned, his tone indicating that he was relaying a message from Anto.

„Sure thing, boss," Burke said. He turned towards the door as they heard a bolt scraping into place. „Seems we're suddenly valuable enough to be locked in at night." He pointed his thumb at it.

Virdon was already staring down into the bucket. „It looks like porridge," he said doubtfully.

Burke stuck his hand in - no spoons for animals, apparently - and licked it off.

„It _is_ porridge," he said. „No sugar, though."

They hunkered down and began to scrape out the stuff with their hands. It was a sorry meal, but by now, they would've eaten from the floor.

„Well, it's... hearty, and... good for digestion... I guess..." Burke joked. „Think they hid some treats at the bottom?"

But Virdon wasn’t in the mood to join his banter, and after a while, Burke ran out of jokes, too.

* * *

„What do you mean, you lost them? How can scores of apes on horseback lose four people on foot?" Prefect Taito slammed his hand on his desk and every man in the room winced. The chief of the prefecture’s police, on the other hand, just leaned back in his chair and let his gaze travel over his subordinates.

_Bootlickers, the lot of you._

It filled Bela with grim amusement that the demonstrations of submission didn't help to mollify the prefect's mood this time.

Taito stood with a sudden jerk, toppling his chair. „Our orders were clear and not that difficult to implement, if I'm not mistaken?" He strode over to the map of the district hanging at the wall and banged an angry fist against it.

„This prefecture is farmland, people! Fields, tenant farms, a few plantations... miles and miles of open land! And you're telling me they went up in smoke? Vanished down a rabbit hole? This is unacceptable! Bela!"

„We've been at every farm and on every road, prefect,“ Bela said slowly, careful not to let his true feelings show on his face or in his voice. Taito was one of the sharp young prefects that had supplanted the old guard almost in one fell sweep during the last two years; he had heard rumours that they had been personally selected by general Urko himself. People like Taito had to be treated with caution. „Maybe they just took another route, through one of the neighbouring prefectures..."

„And if they didn't?" Taito snapped. „Do you want to explain to the general how humans managed to slip through our cordons?"

„You say that as if no human had ever managed that before," a deep voice rumbled from the last row. The dissenter wasn't hard to spot, the only Gorilla in a crowd of Chimpanzees. Unfortunately for Taito, Bela mused, he wasn't one of those Gorillas whose opinion you could ignore. Yuba was one of the best trackers in Taito's prefecture. He knew it, Taito knew it, and Yuba knew that he knew it.

This time, however, the prefect chose to ignore Yuba's comment. „The map has been overlaid with a grid," he addressed the rest of them. „Chief Bela will assign you to your grid square, and you will turn over every stone and every leaf and you won't come back until you have them. Ask the farmers again, ask them three and four times, I don't care."

„It's not all farms an' fields, y'know?" Yuba pointed out. He nodded towards the map. „There's also miles and miles of woodland in those hills, where one can lie low and watch the lads fall over each other in the underbrush." He folded his hands over his belly. „'m not saying we're not going in, but you hafta understand: you've got hundreds of square miles of forest, and you don't want us to find _a_ rabbit - you want us to find _the_ rabbit."

Taito leaned on his desk and smiled. „I want you to find me _four_ rabbits - and I'm sure you're up to it, Yuba. Everyone knows you're the district's best tracker."

The Gorilla laughed. „Oh, did I get a promotion? ‘n here I thought I was just the _prefecture's_ best tracker. Well." He rose. „I won't promise you anything, prefect. I'm a hunter, not a magician - I don't pull them rabbits out of my arse." He stopped in the door. „But if they're still around, I'll find them."

„Well, you heard our Gorilla friend,“ Taito said with a grimace after Yuba had left. „I hope you’ll defend our Chimpanzee honor and won’t let him come home with those human hides slung over his shoulder. Because in that case I’d have to demote the lot of you. Dismissed.“

Bela rose with the rest of them, already assembling the teams in his mind. That fishing trip with his youngest just would have to get postponed for a few days... maybe a week...

„A word, Bela.“ Taito was demonstratively studying the map, hands clasped behind his back.

Bela waited while the rest of the apes filed out of the room, ignoring the curious glances thrown in his direction.

„Close the door,“ the prefect ordered when the last officer had left the room, without taking his eyes off the map. He didn’t turn around even then, staring at the map as if he could find the humans there.

„I didn’t want to discuss this in front of your men, but this isn’t just your usual manhunt, Bela.“ Taito brushed the painted canvas with his fingertips. „These humans’ handlers are enemies of the state. This is political.“ He finally turned around to face him. „Do you know what that means?“

 _It means I’ll keep my head down and my mouth shut,_ Bela thought. _And maybe my eyes, too._ The combination of „political“ and „Urko“ reminded him too much of that cursed campaign fifteen years ago.

Bela had a wife and kids now. He’d leave politics to apes like Taito - young, ambitious fools who dreamed of a swift rise to glory and power. They’d learn soon enough that following Urko was a swift descent into a nightmare of fire and blood.

Sometimes he still dreamed of that campaign.

Taito didn’t wait for his answer. „It means you’ll do your _utmost_ to find those apes, Bela. Find them and bring them to me, and I’ll make sure to mention your name to Urko.“

Bela put on his helmet. „Now there’s some incentive.“


	3. Chapter 3

The table was a bit too small for so many people, but Zana was grateful that she was sandwiched between Galen and Polar, otherwise she’d probably have dropped into her plate from exhaustion. Despite Yantes’ cries of pity at the sight of her sore feet, the farmer’s wife had immediately taken her up on her offer to help her with the household chores, and had kept her busy for the better part of the afternoon. Zana hadn’t dared to mention her aching feet again; she wanted Yantes to think of her as a useful addition, not a burden.

She let the conversation around the table wash over her as she listlessly stabbed at her food. Yantes was still bustling between table and oven; her energy seemed to be inexhaustible.

„So, your Alan suggested a new kind of pump..."

„Have you looked at my new fence, pa?"

"... said he'd show me tomorrow what he meant by lifting the water with a _screw..."_

„It's a new fence that the cow can't trample down, and..."

„He's got some strange ideas, your human, but I'm willing to try some of them, if they're not too outlandish..."

"... and Donny said if you want the fence somewhere else, you can put it apart and then put it together again..."

„Who?"

„I named him Donny, like the human in the story." Remo shoved a huge salad leaf into his mouth, at once pleased and unnerved to be in the center of attention all of a sudden.

„The name was Donez," Anto muttered behind his cup.

„I like Donny better," Remo said stubbornly. „He's my human, so I call him what I want."

„He's Yuma's human," his father rumbled, „he's just letting us use them for a while."

„What did... Donny say to his new name?" Zana asked.

Remo shrugged. „Nothing. I've just decided on it."

Zana speared a tomato. „Well, I hope to be there when he hears it."

Remo frowned when Galen began to chuckle, but shrugged off his momentary confusion and turned to his father. „Have you looked at my fence?"

„Not yet, you can show it to me after dinner." Polar ruffled his head and returned his attention to Galen.

„How did you get that idea for your new fence, Remo?" Zana wanted to know.

Remo squirmed in his seat; he had boasted with „his" new fence, but faced with a direct question, he didn’t have the nerve to uphold that claim.

„It was Donny's idea," he mumbled. „But I made sure that he didn't laze around!"

„So both your humans know a lot about farming," Polar remarked mildly. „Funny thing, for humans living in the city..."

„They, ah, they must've learned it from their former master," Galen shrugged. Contrary to Remo, they were getting pretty good at lying, Zana thought dryly. „They never brought it up, but of course they never had a reason to, in the city."

„Yes, Donny said he learned it from an ape named Lincoln," Remo remembered.

„Well, I'd like to have a word or two with that ape," Polar said wistfully. „He seems to know a good deal about farming. And your Alan is a fine worker - the first wall is almost done. Tomorrow, we'll build the second one, further uphill. Alan said the fields will retain the water better during a dry spell." He emptied his cup and Yantes rose to fill it again.

„I hope to double the crop on that field. Who knows? Perhaps even triple it. We'll try some sweet corn, like Alan suggested..."

Anto banged his fork on the table with a loud exhale. „He's a human! What makes him think he can tell you how to manage our farm? And how can you listen to him? It's ridiculous!"

„Because I saw it work!" Polar leaned over the table and pointed at his face. „And you saw it, too!"

Anto snorted and raised his hands in denial. „I saw nothing! The human was scratching in the mud like a pig, that's what I saw!"

Polar shook his head. „Oh Anto, you need to get your head outta your arse once in a while."

„It's your farm, and you keep it like you want," Anto growled. „Once I have my own farm, I'll decide how things are done there."

„That's right, Anto, once you have your own farm, you'll be the head of the house there," Polar nodded. „Jus' as well that you remember who it is here."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the table. Zana glanced at Remo, who kept his head down so as not to draw anyone's attention. Yantes was stirring the pot on the oven maybe a bit longer than necessary.

The farmer cleared his throat. „Eh, the human told a funny story today. Claimed he learned how to clear a field when he was a boy... on his father's farm. Can you imagine that?" He laughed. „Wanted to tell me that his father owned a farm! I asked him if he'd been adopted by an ape." He slapped his knee, roaring with laughter. Remo laughed with him. Galen chuckled a bit, too, although it sounded forced to Zana.

_Alan gave you valuable advice, and all you give him in return is scorn._

She slipped out of her seat with a murmured excuse and vanished into the kitchen; a moment later, Yantes joined her, carrying a still half-full jug of lemonade in the crook of her arm. Zana ignored her; she stared out of the window, at the barn across the yard. She wondered what Alan and Peet were doing there now. Had they been given something to eat? Were they very tired? Had they been beaten, or even just slapped, shoved... treated with contempt?

Yantes filled up the jug and put it down beside her. „Don't you mind the men," she said soothingly. „They talk rough, but they're not treating your humans wrong. They're well fed, and they have a roof over their heads. And Polar is a good man - he doesn't whip the ox if he doesn't have to, and he won't beat your humans, either."

Zana sighed. It was no use talking with Yantes about Polar’s attitude towards humans. They needed to be good guests; challenging what their hosts knew as common wisdom was out of the question.

But it was hard; she had never been one for platitudes. „I know; it's just - I miss them, somehow..." It sounded ridiculous even to her own ears.

But Yantes nodded sagely. „Ah, that's because in the city, it's easy to forget how the world is set up. That humans aren't pets, or family. They're beasts of burden, in the best case, and they're most happy when they're used like the Mothers intended it. You don't do them any favours by keeping them in unnatural conditions."

So she had unintentionally confirmed one of Yantes’ prejudices. _Apparently I’m quite a natural when it comes to conning people_. Zana hastily grabbed for the opportunity to change the subject. „That sounds as if you've lived in the city, Yantes."

Yantes bobbed her head and laughed. „A short while, until I met Polar. I was training to be a nurse, but then this handsome man came along and..." she spread her arms, „the rest is history."

Zana smiled at her. „Do you ever miss it? Wish you could go back and... take a different turn?"

„No," Yantes said firmly. „We can't know what's around the bend in the road before we get there, Mila, and it's foolishness to look back and pretend we could’ve known then what we know now. That's a sure recipe for misery. We can only decide as best as we can, and be at peace with that. - And what are you doing there, young man?"

Remo jerked back from the kitchen cabinet that had partly hidden his small figure. „I didn't teach you to lurk in corners and eavesdrop on the grownups," Yantes chided him.

„I didn't lurk, I was thirsty!" Remo declared and dared to snatch the jug from the corner. „I was wondering what kept you so long!" He quickly retreated, and after a last pat on Zana's arm, Yantes followed him; there still were hungry men to be fed.

Zana turned back to the window and stared into the darkening yard.

* * *

A light breeze rustled the leaves over Galen's head, making the little white bell-shaped flowers dangle wildly at their stems. The young ape was oblivious to their beauty, cursing under his breath as he clamped down on his notes that threatened to flutter away like half-fledged birds.

„What are you scribbling there, Ga- dear? Preparing a lecture?" Zana teased and handed him a sheet that had gotten away. Galen saluted her with it and flashed her a grateful smile as he tucked it between the rest of his notes.

„Ah, no," he sighed, „although I'd love to use the auditorium for that one. Ha!" He laid the book on top of his notes to prevent them from taking off again, and expectantly patted the seat beside him, but Zana shook her head.

„I just wanted to check on how you're doing, Yuma." She was on her way to either clear the kitchen garden of weeds, or to grind corn; Yantes hadn’t decided yet. Zana secretly hoped she’d get to do the garden. In any event, her taskmaster could turn the corner any moment, so she better keep their assumed names straight.

„Oh, I'm, I can't complain." Galen gestured around him. „I have... a nice chair for my foot, lemonade, fine weather..." He shrugged. „And a fascinating book to read. It's like a holiday, except for my bad conscience."

Zana ignored that last remark and craned her head to read his notes. „So what are you taking notes for?"

„It's just, uh, I'm sort of underlining passages that I find striking one way or the other - arguing with the text, in a way, since I have no one to bounce ideas off of." He smoothed the notes with his palm, a nervous gesture he couldn't suppress.

Zana frowned. „No one? I went to university, too, in case you'd forgotten." She had to remind herself, too, with all the mindless work she was currently forced to do.

„No, no, of course I haven't forgotten.“ Galen’s nose twitched with distress. „But you're busy all day - what have you been doing just now?"

„I was drying the dishes, and now Yantes and I will grind corn." With her luck, it probably wouldn’t be the weeds.

„She's not giving you a break, is she?" Galen asked with a rueful smile.

Zana shrugged. „It's not as if she has a break all day, either. And it's nothing, really, compared to what Alan and Peet have to shoulder. They are really being worked like Polar's ox."

„Polar seems to be quite happy with them."

„He's pretty excited with Alan's ideas - if he had the money, he'd been badgering you day and night by now to sell him." Zana finally gave in to the temptation to rest her feet for a moment, although she couldn't relax; her break would only last a short moment.

„From what he told us over dinner, Alan really knows a great deal about farming," Galen offered.

„It's so unfair!" Zana slapped her fist on her knee. „Polar isn't stupid - he understood those new inventions at once. Can you imagine how he could manage his farm if he'd gotten the opportunity to study agriculture at university?"

„They don't have such a course at university," Galen pointed out.

„Exactly, and why? Because they don't think it's worth wasting resources on it! Such arrogance!"

Galen was spared another of her rants, as Yantes stuck her head around the corner in that moment. „There you are, Mila! Come on, we’ll do the corn first - I’m almost out of flour, and the men need to eat!“

 _Of course they do,_ Zana thought sourly and struggled to her aching feet, _good thing they do, so that we wimminfolk get something to eat once in a while, too._

She shouldn’t be so grumpy, Zana scolded herself while she laboured over the mill. Somehow, Yantes had gotten the job of pouring corn into the opening in the middle, while turning the handle had fallen to Zana.

Yantes just didn’t know better than to be a good wife, Zana thought, lacking the breath for conversation, which was too bad because she had waited all day for an opportunity to talk with her about...

„Can we take turns? My arms feel like lead,“ she gasped. Yantes shook her head, but grabbed the handle. Her opinion of soft townsfolk who just weren’t up to the task was written clearly in her face, although Zana preferred to think that her expression was more one of pity than contempt.

Pouring the corn into the central hole of the grindstone gave her the opportunity to break the subject that she had been turning around in her head all morning. „Your Remo was quite proud of the new fence he built,“ she began casually. „He’s really talented with humans.“

Yantes swelled with pride over her youngest. „My Remo is good with all animals. He never has to beat the ox to make it do what he wants.“

„And he also has a quick mind,“ Zana said slyly. „How he understood the new way of building a fence... just like Polar knew how to build these walls that keep the water in your field. Your family is really smart and inventive - that’s why you’re keeping up so well on this difficult patch of land.“

Yantes hesitated, and Zana realised a bit belatedly that calling her men „inventive“ had probably not been the most welcome compliment; Gorillas weren’t inclined to break the mould. „It’s good to have a smart man at one’s side,“ she said quickly, „someone who knows how to provide for his family.“ For that, she got Yantes’ wholehearted approval.

„So I was thinking,“ Zana felt her way forward, „since your Remo is as smart as his father, and with Polar being so delighted about this new technique that’ll help him to increase the crop yield... what do you think about sending Remo to school?“

„My Remo does go to school!“ Yantes said, indignant. „All the boys go, we got a school built last summer, and the new prefect is very strict about it!“

„No, of course, that’s not what I meant! I meant a special school, where the boys learn new ways of farming!“ Zibaya had suggested introducing new courses in agriculture to ease the way into academia for Gorillas, and Zana could see how that strategy would benefit both their families at home and the lucky ones who got the chance to-

„Ah, that’s not necessary.“ Yantes pursed her lips and shook her head. „We know how to farm, and Polar can teach him everything he needs to know.“

„But... Polar himself learned something new yesterday,“ Zana said, confused. „And he was very pleased about it. Don’t you think he’d like Remo to bring home even more useful skills?“

„We don’t need new ways of doing things,“ Yantes said with stubborn calm. „What we have now works just fine.“

 _You’re on the brink of foreclosure_ was on Zana's tongue, but she swallowed the words at the last moment. She didn’t understand how the woman across from her could so callously keep her son from rising above the constant struggle for survival - all the advantages had been laid out before her! Her own husband... maybe she should talk to Polar instead. Or let Galen talk to the farmer, since Gorillas were really old-fashioned when it came to taking women seriously.

„I think we should take turns again,“ Yantes ordered, and stopped the grindstone so that the handle was in front of Zana. The message was loud and clear.

_No more talk of new things._

* * *

Burke had known that this was going to be a shit day from the moment Anto had stormed into the barn and driven them out with screams and kicks - although this time, they had taken care to sleep outside Bessie's box. Apparently, that was still too close; they were to stay in that drafty corner of the barn. Damn that monkey... his back still hurt. If you get kicked by five hundred pounds of angry gorilla, you'll feel it for a long time.

His dark premonition proved to be correct when not Remo, but Polar gestured him to follow. He trotted along warily; was he to haul the boulders for Virdon's retaining wall today?

But Polar led him a short distance uphill to a half-buried wheel in the ground; at a closer look, it was connected by a smaller, interlocking cogwheel to a horizontal bar hovering roughly at shoulder height.

„Anto and I dug this well a few years ago," the old gorilla said proudly. „We almost doubled the crop since. Now, I need the ox today, but this field is ready and needs to be watered." He gestured towards the bar, and understanding dawned on Burke.

„But it’s been raining for the past few days," he protested. „Almost every day!"

The gorilla gave him a stern look, and Burke suspected that if he had really been his owner, he'd have gotten a beating for giving lip, but Polar just said, „the field's too steep to hold the water, and it's freshly sown in. Now get to work." He put Burke's hands on the drive shaft and gave him an encouraging slap on the back.

Burke took a deep breath, put his head down, and pushed.

After overcoming the initial inertia, it became easier to keep moving, but the moment he slacked off, the wheel came to a halt, and he had to strain against the bar again to get it going. Polar watched him for a while, making sure that he got the hang of it, then left him to his own devices.

It was mind-numbing work; after a short while, his arms got heavy, and his shoulders began to ache. The repeating gurgle and splash as the buckets emptied one after the other into the trough was like the ticking of a gigantic clock, the minute hand to the small hand in the sky burning down on his back and neck. With every round he completed around the wheel, Burke could feel another batch of brain cells dying off - by sunset he'd be as dumb and mute as Polar's ox.

Damn the old bastard! Damn Galen and his clumsiness! Burke felt a burning rage as he remembered how the chimp had throned on his chair in the kitchen, the women fussing over him, telling Al and him about his „deal" with the farmer. _Nice deal, Galen! Next time, I'll be the one making a deal, and you'll be the one slaving away in a mine, or..._

Wasn't gonna happen. Not on this world. A rational part of his mind pointed out that Galen hadn't had much wiggle room for a deal to begin with - under the circumstances, it was actually a pretty smart arrangement.

Still. If he hadn't twisted his ankle...

The sun crept higher in the sky as Burke became intimately acquainted with the ground under his feet. Once he determined a fixed point in his rounds - a pebble with an unusual rose color - he began to count the rotations he completed, but gave up somewhere between seven hundred fifty and seven hundred eighty, because he wasn't sure he had counted correctly. Maybe he had been off since four hundred thirty, who knew?

Was he allowed to have a break at noon? Was it noon already? The sun was high in the sky and burned on his head, making him slightly dizzy. Or perhaps it was the hunger that did it.

„Hey... you," Burke heard Remo's voice from somewhere to his left. He lifted his head and blinked. The boy stood under a tree at the side of the field, a bundle in his one hand, jug in his other.

Oh. So he did get lunch today. Burke let go of the handle and tried to stomp down on the disproportionate happiness welling up inside his gut. He knew Stockholm Syndrome when he saw it. Still, it was nice to sit in the shade and have something to eat, even if it was just some sort of... cake? Bread? Made of nuts, anyway. He wolfed it down without really listening to Remo's chatter.

When he had emptied his jug, Remo jumped up, impatient to get away to do whatever. Burke envied him - the kid didn't know how good he had it, free to roam the fields and woods all day... „Hey," he said, „how did your father like my fence?"

Remo shrugged. „He found it all right."

Burke frowned. He had hoped for a bit more enthusiasm.

„Well, too bad," he said casually, „because if he'd have liked it, I would've had a nice idea for his wheel here, too." He ambled back towards the bar, seemingly through with the topic.

„What idea?"

Burke stilled, forcing the smirk from his face before he turned back to Remo. He shrugged. „I know how to make this wheel turn without anyone moving the handle." He smacked his hand against the bar.

Remo eyed him with a frown. „Yeah, sure. You harness the spirits to it, or what?"

Burke grinned. „In a way... want me to show you?"

 

He sent Remo away to gather the materials and tools, pushing the bar around for some rounds - let nobody say that he was looking for a way to escape his duties. But of course, when Remo returned, he had to interrupt his work now and then when spoken instructions didn't suffice to get his point across, and he had to show him how to put the parts together. Luckily, he was pushing the handle like a good slave when Anto came by to check on him. Burke had no doubts that he'd have else gotten a beating, owner or not.

Anto was still damn annoyed with their little project, though.

„What's that?" he demanded to know with an indignant jerk of his chin. „Shouldn't you be down at the fence and putting the... the logs in their place?" It was clear that he disapproved of Burke's fence, too.

„It's a windy mill," Remo exclaimed and pointed at Burke. „He's telling me how to build one!"

„Windmill," Burke murmured, but took care to keep his head down. He wasn't eager to get into another row with Anto.

The gorilla shook his head and shoved his little brother away from the half-finished thing and towards the direction of the lower field, where the equally half-finished rail fence was waiting for the boy. „Still more nonsense from the humans - first they turn father's head, and now yours? I won't have that."

Remo dug his heels in like a mule. „I'll get to the fence later! Let me finish this - then the wind can turn the pump, and we can use the ox at the same time!"

„Oh, so you want to _cheat_ on your work, like a human?" Anto pointed accusingly at Burke, who was wisely keeping his mouth shut, and the wheel moving. „Why do you think humans must always be controlled? They are lazy, and they are always looking for ways to avoid the hard work. They need the whip, like father's ox, and if they were my humans, they'd taste it every day!"

Burke had no doubt about that.

„Father doesn't beat the ox very often," Remo objected. Anto ignored him.

„Hard work is the farmer's pride and virtue," he said, and it sounded like something he had heard or learned somewhere. „We are the stewards, we are the gardeners, and we give our care and our strength to the earth, while the human turns it into a desert, if you don't put him on a leash! Think twice about what you're doing, Remo - you don't want to turn our home into a desert, do you?"

Remo was staring at his feet. „No..." he murmured. Anto nodded with grim satisfaction.

„Then come and get to work - and stop playing with the human. He's not a _pet."_ He laid a heavy hand on the boy's neck and steered him downhill, back to the main house.

Burke listened to the gurgle and splash of the buckets emptying. The sun burned down on his neck. He watched his shadow grow longer on the ground as he crept around the wheel, a tiny hand on a giant clock.

* * *

When they were washing up that evening, Burke moved as stiffly as Virdon and was in a pretty foul mood. „Stop being so goddamn cheerful!" He sat down heavily on the upturned bucket and pulled his shirt over his head with a groan. „I swear to god, if Galen doesn't get on his feet soon, I'll run away - I'm not made for living on a farm. Gimme tar and concrete..."

„It's like old times," Virdon said with an apologetic smile, „I feel like I'm back on our farm." As long as he had kept the gorilla out of his line of sight, it had been easy to pretend he was back home, the sun hot on his back, and the sweet smelling earth beneath him. It had been peaceful, that silence in his thoughts...

„You're not gonna tell me that your parents were farming like this," Burke made a sweeping gesture. „What were you, Amish?"

„No..." Virdon tapped the bucket with his foot and Burke got up so that he could take it. „They just liked to live off grid, so we did a lot by hand. They thought we were heading into the next big war..." He trailed off, a bit embarrassed. He had made it sound as if his parents had been preppers or crazy hippies, when they had just wanted to take a stand against the agrotech companies that were eating away the landscape. They had wanted to create a little oasis of life in the monocultural desert of the automated gigafarms surrounding them.

Perhaps they had been crazy hippies after all.

„Well, we did, sorta," Burke shrugged, „though the Chinese never made it to our coast."

Virdon hauled up the bucket. „They lost the farm long before that, during the drought." The Drought, with a capital D, that some had compared to the one over a hundred years earlier. They were teaching about it in schools now; Chris had looked at him wide-eyed when he had told him that he had lived through it. Suddenly Alan Virdon had acquired the same historical weight in his son’s eyes as General Custer.

„Quite a jump from being a farm boy to joining the Air Force," Burke remarked, but before Virdon could answer, a cry from the barn turned both their heads.

„Should a cow sound like that?" Burke wondered aloud.

Virdon shook his head. „No," he said slowly, eyes still fixed at the building across the yard. „That animal is having problems..." He started towards the barn. Burke followed him.

„I don't think you should go in there, Al," he cautioned. „You'll probably meet the pointy end of Anto's pitchfork." He hovered on the threshold as Virdon vanished into Bessie's box for a quick examination.

When he returned after a minute or so, Anto was still nowhere to be seen - probably still out in the fields, thank god. „She's about to give birth," Virdon said, worried. „One, two days tops, much earlier than I had thought. Perhaps..." he looked back over his shoulder. „Perhaps the last days have been too stressful for her..."

„Oh," Burke held up his hands, „oh no. I'm not taking the blame for that! If anyone has stressed poor Bessie, it was Anto and his morning tantrums! Let’s get out of here - I don’t want to be cooped up in the barn with Anto when he gets the bad news.“

Lingering in the yard didn't make any difference, of course, except giving them more space to escape the young gorilla's slaps and kicks, though there was no escaping his curses. Polar finally ended their merry chase around the yard when he stepped out of the door and demanded to know what the noise was all about. Anto stomped into the house, and a moment later they could hear his voice from the main room, with Zana trying unsuccessfully to get a word in now and then.

„Damn," Burke muttered, trying to catch his breath, „I have a feeling there won't be dinner for us tonight."

Virdon just exhaled heavily, his eyes on the door.


	4. Chapter 4

„You don't have to... I can reach my ankle just fine, you don't have to do this!" Galen tried unsuccessfully to slap Zana's hands away. She glanced up to him with an annoyed look on her face.

„I _know,_ dear! I _like_ taking care of you, it’s not the same as being forced to wait on you." She continued to unwrap his bandages, and Galen leaned back into the pillows, still somewhat uncomfortable.

„Well, I, I had the impression our hosts were _expecting_ you to wait on me..."

Zana shrugged. „Perhaps they do - but if I'd ever done what's expected of me, we wouldn't be here, would we?"

Galen smiled wryly. „It seems that's true for both of us."

„Oh, it looks _much_ better today!"

Galen leaned forward to have a look himself. The swelling was gone. „It stopped hurting, too... perhaps I'll be able to walk soon," he said hopefully.

Zana sighed. „Alan and Peet would be thrilled to hear that! The poor things are practically limping into the yard every evening!" She bit her lip, but was unable to control her grin. „What price did you tell Polar this morning?"

Galen fell back into the pillows with a huff. Just as Zana had predicted, the old farmer had begun, not too subtly, to put out feelers for Alan's price. It was ridiculous - even if Galen had been the human's owner, which he wasn't, and even if he'd considered selling him, which he hadn't, there was no way Polar would ever be able to afford him. The only reason he didn't crush the farmer's wishful fantasy was that as long as Polar kept dreaming of owning the human, he wouldn't throw them out while his ankle was still sore.

„Thrice the value of what my father paid for our cook," he said, and Zana shook her head.

„Don't you think that was a bit over the top? He couldn't even afford him if you'd set it at half your cook's price." She began wrapping up his ankle with the wet bandages that were soaked with Yantes' ointment.

Galen shrugged. „I didn't want to give him ideas about taking up a second loan on the farm. Oh, _he_ thought it to be a fair price, by the way." He sighed and plucked at the pillow. „But it seems my strategy backfired all the same."

Zana began bandaging up the foot with the last, dry wrapping. She frowned. „How so?"

„He, ah, he asked me if I'd sell him one of Alan's offspring instead... once we'd settled in with our relatives up North, and started breeding." Galen pinched the bridge of his nose. „The price I asked convinced Polar that Alan is prime material, so _of course_ every ape with common sense would start making money from that."

„Never tell Alan anything about that conversation," Zana said darkly. Galen laughed.

„Oh, no. No, I'm not getting into that... what's going on out there?"

He recognized Anto's voice - shouting and cursing in the yard, probably about his cow. Galen barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes.

Zana quickly stepped to the window; she stiffened after a single glance. „Anto's chasing Alan and Peet around the yard! He's trying to _beat_ them! The bastard..." She hurried to the door, but paused, her hand already on the handle, when they heard Polar's deep voice from the yard. The shouting stopped.

Then the door was pushed open so forcefully that Zana staggered back.

Anto stomped in, hands clenched into fists, fur bristling, filling the room with a trembling fury that seemed to completely suck out the air. Galen cautiously put his bandaged foot on the floor and sat straighter. He fervently wished he'd be able to stand up - he didn't want to be forced to look up to the furious youngster; that made for a bad starting position in a duel.

Galen had no doubt they'd be dueling, though he hoped it would be limited to words.

„You. Will leave! Tomorrow, you'll be gone, or I'll set the patrol on you, and if I have to run all the way down to the prefect and back!" Anto pointed a trembling finger at Galen's face.

He could hear Zana's sharp inhale, and see Polar and Yantes hovering silently beyond the threshold from the corner of his eyes, but Galen kept his gaze firmly fixed on Anto's face. He hoped that his own face betrayed nothing but calm superiority, even if he felt neither inside.

„You have to excuse my ignorance," he said, keeping his voice light and pleasant, „but I have to wonder what could possibly make you go back on your father's word all of a sudden."

Anto growled. „A word must be kept by both sides! _You_ gave your word that your humans will leave the cow alone!"

Galen nodded. „And so they have."

„No they haven't!" Anto roared. „The cow is sick! She doesn't eat, and she's screaming with pain! Your humans have put a hex on her! She's dying!"

Galen frowned. „Even if your cow has fallen ill, it has nothing to do with the humans!" There was no use debating superstition, especially not with a hysterical farmer, but he had to try at least. „I'm sorry if your cow has troubles, but the sensible thing is to call a veterinarian..."

Anto ignored that advice. „She'll die... then what will I do? I'll never get a bull calf of my own! - You're staying so she'll die, and your humans can burn her flesh and eat it!" He stepped closer, towering over Galen. „She started dying the day they walked in here, carrying you - human-lover!"

„Anto!" Zana hissed, the first time she spoke up since Anto had almost smashed the door in her face. Galen admired her self-control, but that last slur had obviously been too much even for her.

„Nobody wants to eat your cow, neither me, nor Yuma, nor Alan..."

„You tell them to remove the hex," Anto yelled at Galen, completely ignoring her. „Because if she dies in birth, I may kill the humans, that's the law!"

„I would leave at once, if I could, but my ankle isn't healed yet!" Galen pointed out through clenched teeth. „I _can't walk!"_

„Remove the hex and leave - today!" Anto repeated. He stormed out of the room before either of them had a chance to say anything. The door banged shut behind him.

Galen took a deep breath and exchanged a look with Zana. „I think it's best if we have a word with your humans," he said weakly.

* * *

 Galen had the sinking feeling that having that word with the humans would fall to him, since Zana was still fuming when Yantes ushered them into the bedroom. They eyed her warily, as if they weren't sure whether her ire was directed against them, or Anto.

„We didn't do anything to the damn cow," Peet said.

Zana stopped pacing the room and flapped her hand. „Of course you didn't. That boy is unreasonable." She mustered them with open concern. „How are you? Are they treating you right?"

„We work like slaves, but they don't beat us," Peet muttered. „If it wasn't so damn cold in the barn, we'd never have gotten near the cow - we just wanted a bit of straw between our butts and the mud."

„Oh!" Zana put her hands on her hips. „I'll talk to Polar about that. You should've told me earlier!"

The human shot her a dark look. „Yeah... there was no chance for that. We didn't exactly run into each other much, lately."

„You're right." Zana looked stricken, and Peet ducked his head, perhaps regretting his outburst. „There wasn't much opportunity for me... I was helping Yantes, and the women don't have much to do with the workers outside the house and kitchen garden..."

„Anto has demanded that we leave tomorrow," Galen interjected. This chitchat about blankets and housework wasn't helping them with their real problem. „Help me up, please."

The humans stepped forward at once and hauled him up, supporting him on either side. Galen gingerly set his foot on the ground. „I can touch the floor," he said through clenched teeth, „but I don't know if I can put weight on it..."

„Put your arms around my and Pete's shoulders," Alan said. „Lean on us to take off the strain from your ankle."

With a deep breath, Galen cautiously shifted his weight.

White-hot pain stabbed through his ankle and up to his knee, and he cried out. The humans slowly let him down on the bed again. „It's no good," Alan said. „You're not fit to travel yet, Ga- Yuma, I'm sorry."

Galen sighed and buried his head in his hands. Zana sat down beside him and put her arm around his shoulders. „Leave me here," Galen mumbled into his hands. „Anto will cool off once you and Peet are gone." He turned to Zana. „You go ahead, and I'll catch up with you later."

„Without us, Polar has no reason to hide you under his roof anymore," Peet pointed out. „He doesn't help you out of the kindness of his heart, but because he can work us like horses." He sounded tired, and when Galen looked up, he was struck by the weariness in the human's stance and face; how long would he be able to keep up?

There was a moment of silence as everyone contemplated their options. There weren't many.

Zana rose from the bed and put a hand on Peet's arm. „I'll talk to Yantes - and Polar," she said resolutely. „You two go back to the barn, I'll have a look at that sleeping place of yours - and I’ll bring you some blankets later. And I'll see to it that Polar gets Anto under control. He's still the patriarch here, not this cow-mad boy!" She smiled at all of them in turn, in a poor attempt at boosting morale. The humans smiled back wryly, honoring her attempt more than actually believing her.

Galen didn't feel too optimistic himself - if anyone would have to convince Polar, it would be him, not Zana. The country folks were a bit more conservative in that respect. But right now, all he could feel apart from the pain was guilt. Guilt, and helpless rage at his own clumsiness. He glumly watched the humans leaving.

„I'm sorry..." he murmured.

* * *

Breakfast was a rather subdued matter, although neither Polar nor Yantes behaved any different from the days before. Maybe it was her own bad conscience, Zana thought - when she had returned from the barn the night before, determined to talk to Yantes about the trouble with Anto and her humans, she had found that the couple had already retired for the night; the farmers went to bed much earlier than she was used to from her old life in the city.

She covered her sigh by blowing on her tea; the heat from the cup was seeping into her palms and reminded her how Peet had complained about the cold in the barn the other day. A pang of guilt stabbed her - with everyone already asleep, she hadn't been able to bring the humans the blankets she had promised them, either. Although Zana knew that she had never owned them when she had been their handler back at the institute, and that they were now all outlaws, she still felt responsible for them. Well, she could ask Polar now...

„Anto." Polar's deep voice stopped the young Gorilla at the door. The farmer pointed at his seat. „Sit down and have breakfast with us."

The young ape didn't move. „I want to look after the cow first."

„The cow ain't going anywhere, and I want to eat in peace for once," Polar said in the same calm voice, though a hint of steel had crept into it. Anto had heard it, too, apparently, because he slipped into his seat without another word and began to stab at his breakfast with more force than necessary.

The tension around the table had jumped up several degrees; for a while, nothing could be heard except the clinks of stoneware and Polar slurping his morning tea. Now wasn't the right time to break the subject of Alan and Peet's lodgings, Zana decided; perhaps she could catch Polar before he went out to the field, or bring him lunch later...

„I want you to leave today," Anto suddenly spoke up, his gaze fixed on Galen. „I know you're fit to travel again. I just wonder how long you've been pretending to be a cripple."

_„Anto!"_

Polar's cup clattered on his plate over Yantes' indignant cry. Galen choked on his tea and almost dropped his cup.

Zana stared at Anto, then at Yantes. „We aren't pretending anything! I have no idea what he's talking ab..."

„I saw him standing on his own two feet yesterday!" Anto had risen halfway out of his seat, pointing an accusing finger at Galen. „Don't you deny it!"

Galen was still coughing and sputtering, shaking his head in denial. Zana slapped him on the back, trying to stare down Anto. It was harder than she'd thought; she could see the white in his eyes. You really could get mad with anger, she realized. She turned to Yantes.

„Yes, he was trying to stand up last night - we wanted to see if he could already put weight on his foot," she said. „But he couldn't, and he had to sit down again after a moment."

Yantes shook her head. „Why were you trying such a foolish thing? It's much too early to put strain on that injury."

Zana gestured at Anto. „We're aware that our presence is disturbing the peace here..."

„You're just making it worse with your impatience," Yantes scolded them. „A sprained ankle can take three days to heal, or three months - it depends on how bad the injury is." At Zana's shocked expression, she added soothingly, „I don't think Yuma's foot will need months to heal, Mila - but a few more days, for sure."

„The cow is sick now!" Anto roared. „I've said it from the beginning, but did anybody listen? You said the cow is my say," he yelled at Polar, who had sat with a stony face since the beginning of Anto's rant, „but when has it been my say? Every morning I have to kick their humans out of her box, or find they have stolen her straw..."

„They are forced to sleep on the naked floor!" Zana shouted, her own fury overriding her fear of the bulky and short-tempered gorilla, „It's freezing cold over there, I know it, I've been there last night! You told me you'd treat them right! Have they ever been anything else but willing? They are working hard, I can see how tired they are when they wash up in the evenings!"

„You don't get to interrupt me, woman!" Anto howled.

_„Enough!"_

Everybody fell silent as Polar slowly rose from his seat. Zana forced herself to take steady breaths; her heart was hammering against her ribs.

„You don't insult my guests under my own roof, _son!"_ Polar's voice was too big for the small room; Zana saw Remo cower over his plate and found that she was ducking her head, too.

„You don't insult your father at his own table, either! Get your head straight on, Anto, or I'll do it for you! What reason would Yuma have to make your cow sick? I've worked with both his humans, and they are docile and diligent, and know that the cow is off limits to them. - Though the dark one needs a stronger hand. Jus' sayin'..." he added as an aside to Galen, before he returned his attention to his fuming son, whose clenched fists betrayed his fury despite his downcast eyes. „You're worried about the cow? Go and burn some offerings to the foremothers, and perhaps they'll look past your insolence and grant you a healthy bull calf."

He sat down, and Anto pushed away from the table, taking the dismissal as chance to flee the scene. He leaned down to Galen. „Rein in your humans," he growled, „because the next time I catch them near the cow, I'll kill them like rabid dogs!"

He closed the door softly behind him. Somehow, Zana found that to be the most frightening thing of all.

* * *

Polar reached for the whip and smacked it over the ox, encouraging it to strain against the plough once more. The whip didn't connect with the animal's back - not yet. Polar didn't believe in punishing an animal that was clearly doing its best to do its master's bidding; only rarely did they need the extra prompt of a little pain to use the reserves they otherwise wouldn't tap.

He struggled to keep himself from cursing. He'd never curse the soil, of course - that source of life, of food and home and _abundance;_ but Mothers, it was so damn _heavy,_ soaked with water like one of Yantes' old sponges, the soil sticking in thick clumps at his feet and the blade of the plough. It was the lowest of the fields Polar tentatively called his own, perpetually waterlogged, a nightmare to plough, destroying more than half of the crop every year: what managed not to rot away was dusted with mildew. The rest wasn't fit to sell; Yantes was ranting every year as she tried to turn it into preserve.

„Just dig a pit and turn it into a pond," Alan had suggested. „Breed fish in it."

„Gorillas don't eat fish," Polar had pointed out, incredulous that Alan wouldn't know such a basic fact. But the human had surprised him once again.

„No, but chimps do. You could sell them at the market, and since you'd be the only one, I'm sure you could get a good price."

As he was struggling through the mud, Polar turned the human's proposal over in his head. He couldn't find fault with it - he'd probably get more money out of a pond than out of a swamp. With Alan and the other human's help, they'd probably get it done in a few weeks. Polar sighed; he knew that his time with these working animals was limited, and had a hard time deciding where to use them first. Much as he'd have loved to call Alan over and be done with the ploughing, it would be foolish to do so - he'd be left with a dozen half-finished projects, and he couldn't count on Anto to help him with them afterwards.

Ah, Anto. He didn't want to think about Anto right now.

He was relieved when Yantes appeared at noon and brought him his lunch - and something for Alan, as he had told her to do. He was aware that he was getting too attached to the human, but he couldn't help it - he was so _useful_. And Polar gave the ox an extra sheaf of corn after a day like this, so why not reward the human, who had been digging the ditch for the upper wall all morning, too?

Alan was surprised, and pleased, and hungry. For a while, they were both too busy with their meal to talk much. After his first hunger was tamed, Alan jerked his chin towards the wet field.

„Still trying to part the waves?"

Polar grunted. „If I could afford you, digging that pit would be our next project. But you'll be gone before we'd get to that." He shrugged. „Well, it's something for next year... or the year after. When Remo is old enough to help me with it."

„Anto won't help?"

Polar coughed. „If he'd suspect the idea was from you, not likely."

„Hm." Alan took another bite from his sandwich and stared down at the field, where the ox stood harnessed to the plough, head hanging, probably glad for the break, too.

„Strange thing," he said after a while. „You can sow the best seeds, but if the soil doesn't want them, they'll rot away all the same."

Polar had the feeling the human wasn't just talking about the field he was still staring at, but didn't answer. He didn't want to talk about Anto today.

Alan gave him a sideways glance and decided to change the subject. „Anyway," he said, „I wonder if you're rotating your crops around here?"

They had a fascinating discussion about manure and crop rotation, and if Polar welcomed the pretense to rest a little while longer before returning to work, he calmed his bad conscience by reasoning that he had to make use of the human's head as much as his body in the limited time he had him.

„Your friend told my Remo that he learned how to build that new kind of fence from his former master," he told Alan. „Did you two have the same owner?"

Alan looked taken aback for a moment, probably wondering why he'd ask him that. „Uh, yes, you could say that," he finally said. „We had the same... employer before Yuma... took care of us. But before that... Did he mention which master he meant?"

„An ape named Lincoln," Polar said, and slapped him on the back, because Alan had choked on the water he was drinking.

„Ah, ah, yes," Alan gasped, when he had stopped coughing, „a, a great man... ape."

„Why did he sell you?" Polar wondered. He wouldn't sell Alan, if he owned him.

„Ah... he was killed," Alan said. „Shot."

„Shot? Not by an ape?" Polar was shocked. Ape didn't kill ape. That meant...

Alan shook his head and avoided his gaze. „No, not by an ape. He was shot by a human."

Polar cursed. Alan studiously stared at the horizon and took another sip from his jug.

„And your master Lincoln taught you all these things about farming?" Polar wanted to know. Alan shook his head and smiled.

„No, I really learned that from my father. Though where he learned it, I don't know. Perhaps he learned it from... a master." He rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "What I learned from... from master Lincoln was that all... all intelligent beings are created equal and should work together as equals." He met Polar's gaze. „Master Lincoln didn't believe in slavery."

„Hm." Polar didn't know what to think of that. Some apes did have strange ideas, especially those living in cities. Yantes said it was because they lived so far away from the earth; it did something to their heads. But the look in Alan's eyes was sad and distant, and Polar wasn't in the mood for deep musings right now. So he just said, „Is that why you don't have a brand?"

Alan stared at him blankly, and Polar gestured at his shoulder. „No brand, to show who's your owner."

The human blinked. „Yes, I suppose so. It never came up with... my current owners, either."

„Ah well, they're city apes," Polar waved dismissively. „They probably let you sleep in their bed, too."

Alan coughed and grinned. „No. I swear I always slept in my own, ah, corner."

„Well, you don't seem to be too screwed up, I'll give you that," Polar agreed. Then he looked at the sun and sighed. „An' here I'm chatting the day away with a human as if I was a city ape myself! Up, human! You have a ditch to dig! And I have a swamp to plough!"

Alan rose immediately, thanked him for the lunch, and went back to work. Polar trudged through the mud towards his plough and fervently wished for enough money to buy him off from Yuma. That city ape couldn't appreciate what he had in this human.

Polar couldn't understand how the Mothers allowed such a waste.

* * *

The sun was already climbing down from its peak in the sky, but the heat was still growing, the humid air thick and sticky like molasses. Uphill, the wheel of a pump creaked, or a cow blew against her hay, the only sounds breaking the silence from time to time. The air in the valley was glassy and unmoving; summer would choke the land too soon again this year, breeding mosquitoes and fever spells.

Loran thought that it was the perfect day for a little rest in the cool shade of a tree; but Bela had saddled him with their newest addition to the watch, and that meant he’d have to keep an eye on the rookie and show him the ropes, and somehow, Loran was sure that the chief wouldn’t approve if he’d started their tour with introducing Mervan to all their little shortcuts.

Not that he’d have had a chance for that, anyway. Mervan had arrived fresh from the big city about a month ago, all shiny boots and snappy salutes, and had regaled them with quotes from the service regulations from day one. Loran supposed the kid was just eager to prove himself, but he found Mervan’s zealotry exhausting all the same. Right now, he was forcing Loran to spur his poor old horse into a gallop, to „push the farmers off balance,“ as he had put it. Loran didn’t see how crashing into the farmer’s yard would help them find them humans, but he’d wisely kept his mouth shut. Let Mervan show them how it was done in the city.

And then they’d see how well that would go down around here.

The riders shattered the uneasy slumber of the farmyard like a stone smashing an earthenware pot, their horses clattering past the barn and almost climbing up the steps to the main house. Mervan jumped out of the saddle and banged a fist against the door, while Loran let his old mare walk around the yard to let her cool off.

„Open up! This is the prefect's watch!" Mervan shouted when nobody answered his pounding. „Open the door, woman! I know you're in there!"

He almost stumbled when the door retreated from his fist, opening to a frightened Gorilla face.

„About time!" He straightened up. „This is a search on the orders of general Urko himself! Two dangerous humans are on the loose, they may seek shelter or hide in one of the barns or stables. You are obliged to report any unusual sighting or incident." He fixed the woman with a piercing stare. „Anything to report, woman?"

The woman shook her head, wide-eyed. Mervan pressed on.

„You're sure of that? You know what you're in for, if you help those creatures? The same that'll happen to the criminal apes that helped them." He pointed at the tree in the yard. „Your feet will dangle from that tree, mother, after you stopped kicking, that is." He grinned when the woman started to whimper.

With a sigh, Loran dismounted and opened the door of the barn. At least one of them should be doing the actual work while Mervan was having fun on the expense of the poor woman; the sooner they were finished here, the better.

„So try that little brain of yours again, mammy," he heard Mervan behind him.

„No, no, don't..." the woman cried out.

Something big and angry shot out of the door with a head-splitting squeal, running Loran into the ground and startling his horse into a panicked run from the yard.

"... don't open that door," the woman finished. „We have Dulo's prize boar over for the sow." She put her fists on her hips. „You get him back into the barn right now!"

„The hell I will," Mervan snarled. „You can count yourself lucky if the watch doesn't send you the doctor's invoice for my comrade!"

Loran stumbled to his feet. He steadied himself against the barn door, clutching at his ribs; nothing seemed to be broken. Farther down the road, his horse had tangled its legs in the reins and was bucking sideways into the bushes, worsening its predicament.

Mervan growled and grabbed the reins of his own horse. He mounted up and jerked the beast's head around. „If you see something, report immediately." Without dignifying the Gorilla with another glance, he rammed his heels into the horse's ribs and galloped away, ignoring Loran who was hobbling down the road to where his horse had caught on the branches.

„What in the blasted zones is going on here?"

Ah, that had to be the farmer - the wife probably had sent out one of the kids for backup. Loran bent down with a little groan and began to untangle the reins of his horse from the underbrush, pretending not to hear the conversation going on a dozen yards behind him.

„Patrol. Said they're looking for some escaped slaves. They let out Dulo's boar."

The farmer let loose a string of curses, and Loran silently added two or three new ones to his own arsenal. „I dunno which one's the greater pest," the farmer said, when he was finally done cursing. „Them humans or them Chimps."

Loran led the horse to the middle of the road and climbed back into the saddle. His ribs were throbbing.

Yes, that young lad would definitely be an asset to the watch.


	5. Chapter 5

Burke tried to calculate the number of days they had spent on the farm, but they all bled into each other, and he finally settled at „about a week." Then, to give his brain something else to focus on than the heat and the moving ground under his feet, he tried to count backwards to when they had crashed on this world, but tangled up even more. Four months? Six? Eight? He couldn't come to a consistent result. It was this running around in circles all day; each rotation screwed his head off a little more. The spinning was already invading his dreams.

The musky smell of the ox reached his brain before he registered the sound of its hooves and the mass of its body. When he finally lifted his head, his bleary eyes needed a moment to notice Remo at its side. The boy reached out and stopped the bar from moving on, and Burke stumbled from the sudden break of his momentum. He blinked at the boy.

„What's the matter, boss?"

„We'll help father and your friend with the second wall," Remo told him. He gestured at the ox. „Father decided that he wants it finished before you leave."

„What, you mean we can check out from Hotel California after all?" Burke mumbled and grabbed the water jug from Remo's hands. The irony of dying of thirst while operating a water pump wasn't lost on him, but the brown liquid that slushed into Polar's field would give him a giant quickstep if he'd take a sip.

He put the jug down with a sigh and hugged the ox that Remo had harnessed to the bar in the meantime. „Thanks for taking over my shift, man!" Remo shook his head at his antics like an old man.

Burke's step faltered when they passed the half-finished „windy mill." It was just a model, not big enough to ever drive the water pump, but Burke hadn't thought they'd stay long enough to build the real thing; this had been meant to demonstrate the principle of the matter.

„Damn shame," he murmured, his gaze wandering over the structure. It was almost done, even - they just needed to assemble the sails and mount the rotor to the body. It wouldn't take long...

„Come on, human! If Anto catches you lazing around, you'll get a caning!"

Burke looked up to where Remo was hovering under the trees. „Aren't you curious how it'll work when it's finished?" He gestured to the parts lying in the grass. „It's almost finished anyway. C'mon - it'll just take a few moments! Nobody will notice a thing."

Remo reluctantly came over to him. „Anto says it's cheating," he murmured. Burke bent down and picked up a rod.

„It's too small to harness it to the water wheel, so it can't cheat Anto out of his virtuousness," he said. „Look, this'll be the shaft of the blade, and we'll connect it, here, to the brake wheel, like this..."

He was right - it didn't take long to assemble the sails and mount them to the body. Remo was quick on the uptake, and immediately understood how the cogs fit into each other and worked together. Finally they stepped back, admiring their work.

„So..." Remo said. „What does it do?"

Burke scratched his scalp. „Yeah... it needs some wind to do anything. Ya know? That's why it's called a windmill."

Remo's shoulders slumped. „It's just standing there," he muttered. „Anto was right - it's a waste of time." He turned to leave. Burke grabbed him by the shoulders.

„No, it's not," he insisted. „Look, I can't make wind for you any more than I can make rain, but I can turn the windmill _as if_ the wind was blowin', and you'll see how it'll be like, with all the parts moving, okay?" He stepped back. „Don't go anywhere! Lemme show you!" He turned, grabbed one of the vanes, and gave it a push. The rotor moved slowly, the cogs beginning to move inside the body.

Burke turned back to Remo and grinned when he saw the boy's eyes widen.

A streak of white-hot pain slashed across his back and threw him forward to his knees. For a moment, the pain clamped around his chest, making it impossible to breathe.

Then his reflexes kicked in, and he rolled away over his side, and the next blow hit the ground instead, kicking up a small cloud of dust. Burke bolted to his feet and jumped back, and the rod hissed past his face. Anto advanced on him, the white of his eyes visible. Burke had no idea where he'd come from so suddenly.

„Stay still and take your beating like you ought to," Anto snapped. Burke snorted and ducked behind the ox.

„The hell I'll do! You have no right to lay a hand on me, Anto - I'm not your property!"

„You're ours as long as your owner puts his feet under my father's roof, and you're supposed to work and not play in the mud and keep my brother from working, too!" Anto growled and sprinted behind the ox. Burke jumped to the other side of the beast, keeping its body between them. The ox jerked up his head and bellowed nervously.

„We were already on our way - and the new fence your father liked so much? _I_ showed your brother how to build it. And that," Burke pointed to the windmill, „is also a useful thing, you're just too damn stubborn to admit it."

„You're just collecting more strikes with this backtalk of yours," Anto growled; then he let his rod sink as if a sudden thought had hit him, and stepped back.

„I don't need to chase after you," he sneered. „You'll get your beating tonight, instead of dinner." His smile widened when he saw Burke's wild mood deflate.

He was right, Burke realized - there was no escaping his punishment, unless he could plead with Polar. Well, better get to that wall, then. But Anto was standing in the middle of the path, the smile still on his lips, rolling the rod between his fingers.

Burke itched to get in a swift kick to his head. He had never fought against a gorilla, but he figured it was just like fighting against any other bully in Jersey City - you had to be faster than them and get your strikes in before they could lay a hand on you.

Thing was, he might not survive that fight. By the look in Anto's eyes, the ape was just as eager to work off his frustration on him.

Burke stepped back and held his hands up in defeat. „Alright," he said. „Tonight, you tell your father and he'll determine my punishment. I'll take a beating from him, but not from you." His back was already burning as if on fire from that one strike. Damn that monkey! He licked his lips. „And if you don't give way now, I'll tell him it was you who kept me from getting to work, an' we'll see who of us gets more strikes with that rod."

Anto scoffed and lazily bent the rod between his hands.

And then the cow cried out as if she was being slaughtered.

Anto's eyes widened, and Burke took another hasty step backwards. „I've been at this wheel all morning..."

But Anto had let the rod drop to the ground and was already sprinting down the hill, towards the barn. Burke let out a long breath.

„Y'know," he said to Remo who had watched the whole drama with wide eyes, „if I never see or hear a thing from that cow again, I'll be a happy man."

* * *

Loran slowed his horse to a walk - no need to wear it down by chasing it up and down the prefecture. He didn't mind the fresh air and the fact that he had no idiots bumbling behind him who couldn't keep their mouth shut if their life depended on it, for a change. As far as he was concerned, that manhunt could last all spring; it was almost like a holiday.

He brought his mount to a complete stop on the crest of a hill to take a swig from his flask. „Grass for you, water for me," he told the mare that was already grazing at the side of the road. „Well, better than water, actually." He took another draw.

Smacking his lips, he surveyed the valley below. It was one of the more remote ones, the fields trying to fling themselves into the creek at the bottom. Loran shook his head. How anyone could plough the sides of these steep slopes was beyond him. Their chickens probably all had one short and one long leg. He chortled at his own joke and squinted at the buildings clutching at the side of the hill. The dim sound of a bell drifted up to him.

Whose farm was this again? Polar's, right? Those Gorillas all looked the same to him, perhaps with the exception of Yuba, who claimed to be a hunter, but who he suspected to use that story to have a reason for vanishing into the woods all the time. Loran would bet his horse that the Gorilla was raising dream beans or some other weed deep in the forest; everyone knew that Gorillas were vegetarians by nature. No way was that ape killing little bunnies.

A tiny figure was washing up at the well behind the main house, partly hidden from view by the branches of the big walnut tree. Ah, yes - Loran glanced to the horizon - the folks would be coming home from the fields now. Time for dinner. He could use something to eat now, too.

„Time to call it a day, honey," he said and took up the reins. The horse shook its head and strained against the pull, trying to reach another bundle of grass. Loran sighed and let her graze for another moment. It wasn't as if anybody was waiting for them back home. He leaned on the pommel and stared absentmindedly down at the farmhouse once more.

It took a long moment for his brain to get his attention, but then it was like one of those trick pictures they sold at the market, the ones where there's a face or some other thing hidden in the landscape; once you saw it, you asked yourself how you didn't notice before.

Whoever was washing up there wasn't black. In fact, they didn't have any fur save for a patch on their head, as far as he could see. Loran scratched his brow and took another swig from his flask. He knew of only one animal that was almost completely naked.

Human.

Loran grinned and took up the reins. This time, he didn't allow for any discussion from the horse. „We have work to do, honey," he admonished the mare. „I want to see Yuba's face when we bring them the news. Best tracker of the district, my arse!"

He spurred the horse into a gallop.

* * *

Polar was still ruminating about Virdon’s introduction to crop rotation when they were climbing down hill that evening. The farmers knew to let their fields lie fallow between crops to let them regenerate; but of course they knew nothing about nitrogen fixing plants... or nitrogen in the first place. Virdon still wondered why they hadn’t found out about that technique by trial and error - but from what he had learned about gorillas so far, they weren’t prone to experiment. He supposed that living in a fragile environment had taught them to stick to what had already proven to work without detrimental side effects.

Behind them, two murals glowed weakly in the indigo air. Virdon's project was finished; Burke and Remo had dragged sacks of gravel and sand uphill from the shores of the creek all day, for drainage behind those walls. His friend had been unusually silent the whole afternoon, although once or twice, it had looked as if he’d been about to say something to Polar, but he had backed off each time. Virdon had wondered if something had happened before Burke and Remo had joined them, but hadn’t gotten an opportunity to ask. Maybe it was just because farm work really wasn’t Pete’s way of life.

They all stopped for a moment when they heard the deep sound of a bell drifting up to them. Polar grumbled something under his breath and shook his head before walking on. Virdon looked over his shoulder at Burke and shrugged. „What's going on?" he asked the farmer. „What does that sound mean?"

Polar didn't slow his step. „It means that the cow is giving birth; the bell is asking for the calf to be a bull." He glanced to Virdon. „You were right - it's much earlier than we'd thought. At least three weeks early." He shook his head again. „Anto's convinced that you upset the cow and made her ill; let's hope it is a bull calf in the end." He made his way to the main house with heavy steps. Burke closed the distance to Virdon, who stood in the middle of the yard, undecided.

„That sounded a bit ominous," he muttered. „What _will_ happen if it isn't a bull?"

Virdon sighed and rubbed his neck. „If anything goes wrong, it'll be our fault. I guess that means it's Anto's decision what'll happen to us. If it was Polar's say, I bet he'd demand that Galen pass ownership of us to him. But Anto..." He shrugged.

„I'd say we leg it in either case," Burke declared. „I don't fancy spending the rest of my life chained to that wheel any more than being beaten to death by a crazy gorilla."

Virdon shook his head. „Let's make sure it won't come to either of those." He started for the barn.

„I don't think that's a good idea, Al!" Burke called after him. „Let the man toll his bell in peace!"

Virdon didn't break his stride, just lifted a hand to signal that he'd heard him. A last glance over his shoulder showed Burke turning to the well to wash up.

Well, he wouldn’t be able to help him with the cow, anyway. Virdon silently opened the barn door and peeked inside.

Anto was kneeling in the straw, swaying back and forth with each tolling of the bell in his hand. The ape seemed to be lost in a stupor, whether from the monotonous movement and sound, or his conviction that he was tolling the death knell for the calf and its mother, Virdon couldn't say. He hoped it would give him an opportunity to examine the cow. Eyes fixed on Anto, he eased into the box.

When he returned a few minutes later, Burke had followed him into the barn, probably fearing for his life. „Trouble, doc?"

Virdon nodded. „She's trying to give birth, but the calf hasn't turned."

„You mean it's stuck?"

Virdon suppressed a grin; Burke truly didn't know the first thing about cows and their troubles. Then he sobered. „No, it means it can't even reach the exit."

„Damn." Burke raked a hand through his hair. „That means they'll both die, right? Let's get the hell outta here, before Anto wakes from his self-hypnosis and decides to skewer us for that."

„And what about Galen?"

„I'll carry him all the way from here to the North Pole on my back, okay? I'm not going to die for a damn cow, and not for an ape, either, even if I know his name!"

They both knew that Burke’s proposal was unrealistic. „If I could turn the calf...“ Virdon mused. „I've seen the vet do it so many times, and I helped birth a calf more than once..."

Burke was flabbergasted. „Turn the calf? _Inside_ the cow? You mean you wanna stick your hand into her..." he gestured, „you know?"

Virdon grinned. „There's plenty of space in there, Pete," he said. „Yes, you can turn a calf inside the cow. But I need to convince Anto to let me near her first... I don't want him to notice when I'm already up to my armpit in his cow."

„Well, good luck with that. I guess I'll tell Galen to pack our bags in the meantime." Burke gestured to the swaying gorilla who accompanied each toll of his bell with a moaned „dying... dying... she's dying..."

„You really think you can reason with him? After he kicked and yelled at us even in his better moods?"

Virdon shrugged. „I have to at least try." He went over and knelt in the straw beside the ape.

„Look, Anto... listen to me."

Anto didn't react, swaying back and forth with moans of „dying... dying..."

Virdon tried again. „The cow is trying to give birth... and she's suffering because the calf is lying the wrong way inside her. Do you hear me?"

He suspected that Anto did hear him, but chose to ignore the human trying to talk sense into him. But he couldn't give up; this was the only chance not only for the cow, but also for Pete and him. „The cow needn't die - I can help. The calf must be turned around, I've seen how the doctors do it..."

It happened so quickly that neither of them had a chance to react. One moment, Anto was tolling the bell; the next moment, the bell lay in the straw, and Anto's hands clamped around Virdon's throat.

The moment after that, Burke's foot connected to the ape's temple, and Anto let go and tumbled into the straw, dazed, but not out - maybe nothing short of a falling piano could knock out a gorilla.

„Jesus Christ, Al," Burke growled, and hauled him up to his feet, „you never learn." He dragged him to the barn door, where they almost collided with Remo.

„Get your father here, stat," Burke told the boy. „Before this barn turns into a slaughterhouse."

* * *

„Told ya, it was a human! Skin shone like the moon from under that tree!"

Bela leaned back in his seat and rolled the toothpick from one corner of his mouth to the other while he gave the chimp a long look. Loran was an old-timer, he knew the more remote valleys, he knew the farmers, and he was one of the few chimps who actually _talked_ to the gorillas. He walked the beat, instead of lording over the population from his high horse like the younger ones did, literally.

But he also liked to doze the days away under the wild wisterias uphill, and he spiked his water with whatever he was brewing behind his hut. He talked to his horse as if the beast would talk back any minute - well, he'd started that after his wife had died, and they had no children, so Bela didn't hold that against him; it had to be lonely for him out there, all by himself.

Still. His shift was almost over, he knew that Reisa had a fine roasted lamb waiting for him, and it was already dark. He didn't really feel inclined to ride all the way out to Polar for nothing, just on the word of an old drunkard.

Or for something. Bela shifted uncomfortably. If Loran had seen right, they wouldn't just have to catch some runaway humans; they'd have to arrest the whole family for helping and hiding them, and that was a drama the chief had no taste for.

„Ah, dammit." He rose from his desk. It didn't matter if he liked it or not, it was the law, it was his duty, end of story. He waved to Loran, who grinned a delighted, if toothless, grin.

„Fine, let's get the boys."


	6. Chapter 6

They met Polar - and Galen, surprisingly, who came hobbling across the yard on Virdon's crutches - outside the barn door; every time Virdon had tried to enter, Anto had threatened him with a pitchfork.

Virdon hastily explained the cow's problem and what he intended to do, if only Anto would let him, and Polar gave him a sceptical look and a shrug.

„I'd lie if I said I wouldn't like to see you try," he said, „but when the cow is birthing, it's the son's say. That's the law."

„Anto will blame _us_ if the cow dies," Virdon argued. „And she will die, if she doesn't get help soon."

„I know," Polar said with a heavy voice. „And if the cow and her calf die, he can ask for your lives in return. That's also the law. In the olden times, people would sacrifice a human to the forebears _in advance_ to prevent a tragedy like that." He gestured towards the barn.

„Jesus Christ," Burke muttered.

„Nobody will have the lives of Alan and Peet, Polar," Galen said in a surprisingly firm voice. „If Anto tries anything, they'll be free to defend themselves, and it won't end well for your son. So help Alan to talk some sense into him." He hobbled closer. „I have complete trust in Alan - if he says he can turn the calf and save your cow, then he can do it. You will have your cow, Anto will have his calf, and I will have my humans. Everyone will be happy."

Polar looked from Galen to Alan, shook his head again, and opened the door.

„Anto? It's me. Let me in and have a look at the cow." He took a cautious step in. After a moment, Alan and Galen followed.

Burke grabbed Remo before the little guy could follow them into Anto's lair. „Nuh-uh. We better stay close to the exit... in case Anto goes on a rampage again."

A moment later, he heard Polar cry out in the barn and rushed in, his own advice forgotten.

He found Virdon flat against the wall, the pitchfork hovering inches from his throat. Polar had grabbed Anto by the arm. „The cow isn't dead," he said urgently, „you can't claim a life yet!"

Anto seemed to pull back a little, calming down, but the pitchfork didn't move.

Neither did Alan. „Polar..." he murmured in a strained voice. „Talk sense to him..."

„Anto," Polar tried, „there is no need for the fork - they won't run. They won't leave their master behind, or they would've done so already. They have a strong feeling for him."

„We're going to have a talk about that later," Burke muttered.

„Let me help your cow," Alan pleaded.

„You're six inches from being skewered, buddy," Burke pointed out, „I'd let the cow worry about herself."

„You stay away from her," Anto snapped, but he lowered the fork, and everyone breathed a little easier. Anto retreated to the box and bent down for his bell without breaking eye contact with Virdon. He was still gripping the fork with his other hand.

They were no closer to a solution than before, and Burke thought that the cow was already exuding a sick smell. Perhaps it was his imagination; he had no idea how a healthy cow should smell. As it was now, they'd be standing here for hours, staring each other down, while the poor beast was tortured to death by her own calf that was itself choking in her womb. All because that damn monkey was too proud and too stupid to give in.

His searching gaze fell on Remo, who had ignored his former advice and had moved away from the door to stand at his side. „Your brother is a damn fool," Burke muttered. Remo shrugged, torn between agreement and sibling loyalty. Burke looked thoughtfully down on his scalp.

„Do you want to help me save your cow?" he whispered. Remo looked up to him, surprised, and nodded. Burke smiled a, he hoped, confidence-inspiring smile. „Do you trust me?"

The boy scowled. „No." In the background, Galen was arguing with Anto, to no avail.

Burke grinned and looked away. „Smart kid," he murmured. Then he leaned down for a conspiratorial whisper. „Look, we want the same thing - I also want that cow to live, because it means that _I_ get to live. If that cow dies, your father said that Anto can claim my head, and Alan's, too. So I really, _really_ want that cow to live - just like you said you want to. Right?"

To his relief, Remo nodded. The kid really was smart.

„Okay, so - do you think you can trust me for the next few moments, until the cow is safe?"

Remo hesitated, then nodded slowly. Burke slapped his shoulder, unfazed by his lack of enthusiasm.

„Great. So it's a deal. I'm not gonna hurt you, it's all just make believe, remember. Give me your knife." He went down on one knee behind Remo - despite his small size, the boy was a gorilla, and Burke doubted he could lift him up to his level, not to mention hold him there - and called out to Anto.

„Hey, cowboy! Drop that weapon and keep your hands where I can see them!"

All eyes turned to them.

And fell on the corn knife he held against Remo's throat.

With a cry, Anto rushed towards them, fork raised, but Burke jerked Remo backwards and pressed the blade harder against the boy's fur. Remo whimpered, in real or fake fear, Burke couldn't tell, and Polar grabbed Anto's arm, hard, and almost yanked him from his feet.

„Tha's right, nobody move!" Burke yelled. His back started to burn, as fresh sweat ran down and into the lash wound. „I like your boy, and I don't wanna hurt him, but I'm not gonna die for a damn cow!" He jerked his head towards Virdon.

„So y'all stay back and let the man work, alright?" He kept his gaze on Anto, who was still in his father's grip, murder in his eyes. „Your move, doc."

With a last look at Anto, Virdon stepped around the group and vanished into the box. After a moment, he stuck his head out again and told Galen - the only one in the barn not pinned down, or pinning someone else down - to get Yantes and a bucket of hot water.

Galen, after surveying the scene, hobbled over to where the bell lay forgotten in the straw. He bent down and handed it to Anto.

„You want it to be a bull - ring the bell."

* * *

Bela looked over his group and quickly counted heads; five officers, and Loran (alright, so five and a half) on horseback, torches already lit, ropes slung over the saddle horns, rifles in their scabbards, all eager to go. Seemed like he was the only one not looking forward to bringing an old farmer in.

He wondered what had come over the man to knowingly defy the law - it wasn't as if anyone in the valley could plead ignorance by now. They had been canvassing for more than a week, haunting some farms three or four times in a row (the ones that lay conveniently on the way to work or home, mostly). The farmers already started cussing as soon as they saw them.

Probably thought he could use them for himself, Bela thought with a shrug. Managing those farms was a curse; most farmers had foreclosure hanging over them like the sloping fields were hanging over the creek, always a day away from falling into the abyss. None of that would help Polar if they really discovered the humans under his roof, though.

Bela took up the reins. „Alright people, let's go. Anyone who fires a shot without my say-so will wish their mama had drowned them in a bucket the day they was born after I'm finished with them. Am I clear?"

The men laughed and jeered. „Yes, chief!" - „That's what my mama wishes every day, chief!"- „You're so good to us, chief!"

Bela shook his head. „Let's go then." He spurred on his horse and the others fell into a quick trot behind him.

Some days, the chief really hated his job.

* * *

Burke couldn't see into the box from where he was standing, and was glad for it; the sounds and smells coming from there were enough to turn his stomach. He hoped that the slushing noises came from the water that Yantes had brought over earlier.

Yantes had opted to stay, too, after almost fainting when she had discovered her youngest. Now she was hovering at Polar's elbow, her eyes shooting daggers at Burke.

He didn't mind. Remo was pretty relaxed in his arm by now, and Burke let the knife rest lightly against his collarbone. He was ready to pick up their little charade as soon as Anto made a move, but the ape had sunk down into the straw again and was tolling his bell.

Polar had relaxed a bit, too, or so Burke imagined, after Galen had whispered urgently to him. He hoped that the chimp had been able to convince the farmer that his human wasn't going to filet his little boy. Well, his trick hadn't been nice, but it had given Virdon the opportunity to work his mojo on the cow and save everyone's necks, particularly the human ones. Sometimes, nice just didn't cut it.

He only hoped that Virdon was getting somewhere over there.

„How bad is it?" he called into the box.

„Worse than I thought," Virdon's voice came back.

 _Damn._ „'n how bad is that?"

„About _twice_ as bad..."

„You do have a way to reassure your patients' families, doc..."

Virdon grunted, but didn't answer. Burke released Remo, letting his hands rest lightly on the boy's shoulders. If Virdon didn't manage to save the cow, that knife wouldn't make a difference, anyway; he had no intention to harm the boy, and he suspected that Polar knew it by now.

A while later, Virdon's face suddenly appeared over the wall of the box, red and sweaty...

... and grinning from ear to ear.

„Come on over," he said to Polar. „You wanna see this."

Polar stepped over the still kneeling Anto, Galen hobbling behind him on his crutches. The men leaned over the wall and stared into the box, wide-eyed. Remo broke away from Burke and clambered up the wall to peek over it. His cry finally compelled Burke to have a look, too. He leaned over the door just as the first „baaaa" filled the barn.

And then the second „baaaa," in a different pitch. Burke's eyes widened in disbelief at the scene inside the box. Bessie was there, right as rain, licking her babies. All two of them.

Twins!

He gave a thumbs up to Virdon, who was still grinning as if he wasn't just the midwife, but the proud daddy himself. „Good job, doc! They should double your pay, too!"

„And the best thing is," Virdon grinned, „they're both bull calves."

„You hear that, Anto?" Burke turned towards Anto, who was still kneeling in the straw, bell forgotten since that first bleat, and staring at the door of the box as if he didn't dare to get up for fear of breaking the spell. „That's what humans are good for - making twin bull calves! Aren't you glad now that we stuck around?"

„Get up, Anto," Polar said gruffly, „receive your bull calves."

Everyone stepped aside as the young gorilla struggled to his feet, a dazed look still in his eyes, and stumbled into the box. Burke saw Yantes dabbing at her eyes when her son broke down in the box, hugging first one, then the other calf, weeping with the delirious joy of a man who had seen the dream of his lifetime crumble and then resurrect before his eyes.

Burke imagined himself kissing the tarmac of 22nd century's ANSA Space Center like that...

Ah, no. He wouldn't let Alan infect him with his pipe dream. This was their home now - they just had to find an apartment where the neighbours didn't insist on using them for the treadmill in the basement...

„Police!"

Zana banged the barn door shut behind her and leaned against it. Her eyes were wide with panic. „Patrol in the yard!" she panted.

Burke stared at her, the silence humming in his ears. Then straw rustled behind him as Anto jumped on his feet inside the box.

„Up with you! Into the mow!" He pointed upwards. „Hide under the hay, all of you! Father and I will do the rest."

* * *

The whole yard seemed to be teeming with apes, but after a moment, the restless mass of torches and horses separated to let their leader come forward, and Polar counted seven men, including chief Bela, who seemed to be ill at ease when he greeted him from his horse.

„It's unusual to meet your whole family out here at this hour, bein' already in the yard an' all, Polar," the chief said while his gaze wandered to the barn door through which they had just filed out. „Been expecting us?"

„What with you riding up an' down the valleys lately, everybody's expectin' the lot of you all the time now, Bela," Polar said mildly. „But Anto here was getting his bull calf tonight, an' we were all out in the barn with him, having a look. There's two of them, even," he added, unable to keep his pride in check.

„Ah," Bela said, mollified, „now that explains that."

„An' what brings you out here in the middle of the night?" Polar had to ask as a matter of form.

Bela smiled an insincere smile. „Just the usual, Polar - we're still searching for those runaway humans, an' a little bird told me you'd know where they are."

Polar shrugged, keeping his features neutral. „Then it told you wrong. I've no idea where those humans of yours are."

Bela stared at him with an odd expression, then let his gaze wander over the rest of Polar's family, who were uniformly shaking their heads. The chief sighed and shifted his weight in the saddle. „You sure? A man can do things that seem foolish to others, but when he does ‘em under duress, that can be taken into account... in court. You got family, Polar - I'd understand if you'd do things to keep ‘em safe... things you wouldn't else do. I'd put in a word for you with the prefect."

Polar understood what Bela was trying to do, and it surprised him more than a little, coming from a Chimp. But perhaps the chief just wanted for him to make his job a little easier; dinner had to be waiting for him, too.

„Sorry, chief, but I can't help you with finding them humans. I'm a farmer, not a guard. I leave the patrolling to apes who know what they're doing. And now I'd like to have my dinner, if you don't mind." He turned to go.

„Polar." The chief sounded exasperated.

Good. Maybe they could stop playing games now. Polar turned back to him.

„Loran saw a human wash up at your well." Bela pointed into the shadows beyond the walnut tree. „Just this evening. You know what the law says for apes who take in runaways?"

Polar hooked his thumbs into his waistband and gave Bela a long look. „Officer Loran saw a human at my well."

„Yes."

„That Loran who swore up and down he saw a dragon behind his hut after he'd made a foul patch of whatever he spikes his water with? More foul than usual," he added after a moment.

Someone chortled behind Bela.

„Well..."

„I don't have to remind you of what happened with ol' widow Nepa and the badger?"

This time even Bela coughed to hide his laughter. His men didn't even try, the old hats giving whispered accounts to the uninitiated. More giggles made the rounds. Loran looked enraged and humiliated. Finally, the chief ordered silence. His smile was a bit sour when he looked down to where Polar stood like a rock.

„Alright, maybe there are some bumps in Loran's track record, but he gave me his word as an officer of the watch that he saw that human on your ground, an' that's something I can't ignore, see? I have to check. An' I can't imagine how one could mistake a human for a Gorilla. Loran said the human's skin shone white like the moon..."

„Ahah! Ahahahaha!!"

Polar's head jerked around to Anto, who was doubling over in... no, not in pain. He... was laughing, although it sounded a bit strained to Polar's ears. One of the horses danced nervously, startled by the sudden sound. Bela was frowning at Anto, and a quick look showed Polar that Remo was frowning at his older brother's sudden glee, too.

„What's so funny, son?" the chief asked.

Anto straightened, a huge grin still on his face. „It was me! Your officer saw me!"

„Now I'm damn certain I didn't see you, young man!" Loran protested, trying to save his dignity. „You don' look nothing like a human. Yer all black, for starters..."

Anto laughed in his face. „I scared little Remo to death, but I didn't think I could even fool a watchman..."

„No you didn't!" Remo protested, but Yantes hushed him, her eyes glued to her older son, who was now walking to the big tub of freshly ground flour that she had made that day.

„It's all the same, every day, sleep, eat, work, sleep," he said. „So we find ourselves some fun. See?"

He reached into the tub with both hands and scooped up the flour, dousing his shoulders and torso with it. „See? I play a prank on Remo, making myself white like a human..."

He scooped some more flour in his face, then sneezed when it got into his nostrils. Sneezed again. Some men began to laugh. The amusement ascended to jeers and whistles when Anto sneezed so hard that he almost bowled over. Anto laughed with them, after he had managed to stop sneezing.

„Everyone's talking about the humans, so I thought, I make Remo believe the humans are crawling around in the bushes, trying to catch and eat him. He almost shit his pants!"

„No, I didn't!" Remo yelled. „I know it was you!" By now, the men were howling with laughter. Polar looked bemusedly down on his youngest and thought by himself that his sons showed an unusual talent for telling stories. He should be more worried about that, but at the moment he found it hard to care. Anto was strutting around the yard, imitating the straight stance of a human and scaring the horses. All in all the atmosphere had dissolved into rowdy amusement at Loran's expense.

„Alright," he heard Bela say, „seems this was another false alarm. Let's call it a day, boys..."

„We should search the premises, chief. The general will ask us if we did."

Polar squinted against the torchlight. The face of the speaker was hard to see in the flickering light, and he wasn't sure if he'd seen him before. If he had, he couldn't remember his name. Young, shiny, eager and ambitious. The worst kind of watchman. Trying to score points not with Bela, but with Urko. Polar ground his teeth in involuntary unease. He had heard of Urko. Everyone had, it seemed.

His gaze met Bela's and he thought the chief looked a bit contrite.

„Very well, Mervan - go and have a look, if you want."

 

An uncomfortable silence hung over the group in the yard; Polar was stoically staring down Bela, who hadn't dismounted. From the house, Yantes' stern voice sounded over to them, as she was hovering around Mervan and his comrade like a vulture:

„What are you looking in the drawer for? You think there's a human hiding under my spoons?"

„Keep your paws off that chest - _don't you touch that!_ That's my wedding gown!"

„Sima, go out and clean your boots before you step into my bedroom - you're getting the dirt all over the floor!"

One of the riders exhaled a wistful sigh. „My Tania was jus' the same," Loran mused. „You keep your ears an' your mouth shut, an' you curse them for yapping at you all day like that, an' then suddenly it's gone an' you find you miss it. Got used to it over the years."

„You should've found yourself a new wife, Loran," Bela murmured.

„Eh, who'd want an old geezer like me?"

„Well, you shot your chance with Nepa, that's for sure," Bela commented and Loran winced.

Polar tried not to glance to the barn, where Roda and Teman had vanished, he felt, a long time ago. It didn't need much imagination to see them throwing down the hay from the mow by the forkful...

„Loran, you ol' fool! The chief should let you walk a chalk line before he believes a word you say!"

The two Chimps were making their way across the yard to them; Teman was plucking straw out of his hair. Roda gestured towards the barn. „There's two newborn calves in there-"

„Told ya Anto had twin bulls," Polar said. Teman ignored him.

„No way they'd be still alive if there was humans around! They'd have eaten them as soon as they'd stuck their paws out of the cow."

„It's hooves, not paws," Remo corrected him. Teman ignored him, too. He climbed back into the saddle.

„I'll still get paid for overtime," he said to Bela, who didn't seem to mind the bad news. In fact, he lost no time to send Roda to the main house to call back his comrades.

„Saddle up, gents - before the prefect loses even more money for your overtime!" He nodded to Polar. „Sorry for the inconvenience. You know how it is - the law's the law. Apologies to your wife for upsetting her household." With a last look around the dark farmyard, he spurred on his horse. Polar watched the torches bob away into the darkness, before he turned to Anto.

„Wash up before you sit down at the table - your mother won't fancy you dusting all over her furniture."

„Yes, father." Anto hung his head and turned away.

„Anto."

The young ape turned back to him.

„Well done."

Father and son smiled at each other.

* * *

Somehow, they all kept lingering in the yard, humans and apes alike, the humans still distinct by their unnaturally erect stance and bright skin, although the night softened the differences to Polar's eyes. Anto had returned from the well, his fur plastered to his body, and went straight up to Alan.

„Alan..." He faltered, then straightened and looked the human in the eye. „I'm sorry for how I treated you back in the barn. I thought..." he struggled for words. „I just couldn't believe..." He threw up his hands in frustration.

„Thank you for saving the cow."

Alan was silent for a moment. Polar couldn't fault him for feeling bitter.

„I saw what you did there in the yard - destroying that old guard's credibility," Alan finally said. "That was cruel, Anto."

Anto jerked up his head in surprise when the human slapped him on the shoulder. Alan's teeth gleamed in the weak light coming from the main house, where Yantes and Mila were preparing a late dinner.

„You saved our lives with that act, so I'd say we're even." He shook his head and chuckled. „If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed _that,_ either."

„I was already in awe when he sent us up to hide under Bessie's precious breakfast," the other human - Peet, wasn't that how Yuma called him? - muttered. Polar couldn't decide if he'd discipline him for that mouth if he owned him, or if he'd come to enjoy the constant jokes. Maybe he'd get used to it, like old Loran had, with his wife...

Yantes appeared in the door, the golden glow of the lamps casting a halo around her plump figure, and Polar suddenly longed to go up to her and bury his nose in her hair. The tension of that night was beginning to seep out of him like water, and he suddenly felt very tired... and very hungry.

„Dinner is ready," Yantes said, and the group began to split up, the apes shuffling towards the main house, the humans...

„You two - come here!"

The humans turned, surprise tensing their shoulders. Yantes waved them to come over to her, and Polar raised his brows. What did his wife have in mind?

Yantes' face was stern. „Since this is a special night - what with Anto's calves... twins... I still can't believe it... anyway. And Alan helping to bring them into the world like he did, an' saving the cow... You two will eat with us tonight. In the house."

Remo began to jump up and down. „You sit with me!" He grabbed the dark one's wrist.

„Not at the table!" Yantes put her hands on her hips. „There are limits!"

„I'll bring you some casserole," Remo promised. Yantes shook her head.

„There's no need to, they'll eat the same as us. I'm not having a bucket of gruel sploshing on my floor."

Alan bowed his head. „Thank you, ma'am."

Yantes looked at him and sniffed. „You wash up first. You still have cow all over you."

Polar thought he could hear Alan smile. „Yes, ma'am."

„And you'll sleep in the barn afterwards, as always."

„Yes, ma'am."

„At least Anto won't have to worry about the cow anymore."

„No, ma'am."

Yantes turned to his friend. „No cheek from you."

The other made a strange gesture, putting his hand to his head. „No, ma'am."

Yantes frowned at him, perhaps wondering if his last response counted as insolence or not. Then she waved them inside. „Now come on in, before it all gets cold."

The door shut out the darkness behind them.

* * *

„You sure you can walk? ‘Cause I'm not gonna carry you when you're tired."

Galen shook his head and smiled, pleasant as always. „I can walk, Peet - the crutches are just so I don't strain the ankle by putting too much weight on it. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Burke eyed him skeptically, but the ape did seem to be fine. Zana had redistributed the contents of his backpack to the rest of them - including herself -, with the exception of that forbidden book that he insisted on carrying himself.

„One book to find them all..." Burke muttered. Galen frowned at him, not getting the context, but Burke wasn't in the mood to explain himself right now; he was eager to get away from that wheel pump. It held bad memories, even though they had climbed up here for another reason today.

„Look, pa, it's a windy mill," Remo said, chest swollen with pride. Burke shook his head - he hadn't been able to persuade the kid that it was ‘windmill', not ‘windy mill'. Ah, whatever. At least today, there was some wind to turn the vanes, and he didn't have to do it himself, like last time.

He shifted his backpack. Yantes' ointment had helped, but it didn't erase the memory.

Polar squinted up to the slowly turning wheel while Remo excitedly explained how a bigger ‘windy mill' could be harnessed to the wheel pump and turn the wheel all day, so that they could use the ox in the meantime. „And I can help you, too, because I don't have to turn the wheel for the ox. Now that Anto won't be here anymore."

Right... Burke realized that Polar's farm would take quite a hit with the young ape suddenly missing. And eager as Remo was, he was no substitute for Anto, not by a number of years. Burke could sympathize with the farmer's predicament, but not so much that he'd stay. Good thing they had his windy mill now, eh?

„It's a fine thing," Polar said appreciatively, „but you'll take it down. Let Anto help you."

„Bu... but why?" Remo stared at his father with the same shocked disappointment that Burke felt. Hell, the old man would let Alan build his terraces all over his field, but he didn't like this genius construction?

„You know how it works?" Polar asked Remo. „Remember how all the pieces fit together?" Remo nodded, shoulders slumped. Polar put a hand on his head.

„Then you can build it again in a few years. But right now..." his gaze wandered up to where the vanes were slowly cutting through the sky, „if General Urko comes by, and sees this machine, he'll know it was made by humans."

„But it wasn't!" Remo protested. „I built it!"

„But he told you how." His father gestured towards Burke. „It's a human thing, everyone can see it. You have to take it down."

„Your father is right, Remo," Galen spoke up. „It's too dangerous right now. But in a few years..."

„When I have my own farm," Remo vowed. Burke nodded and crouched down to him. He put an arm around his shoulders.

„When you have your own farm, and nobody remembers us anymore..."

Remo met his eyes. „I will remember you."

Burke felt a strange lump in his throat. Jeez, he wasn't getting sentimental, was he?

„Well, how could you forget me?" he joked. He patted Remo's shoulder once more and stood up. „I'd say we should get going, before Urko crashes our party."

Anto just waved at him once, but clasped hands with Virdon before he trudged down the path with Remo - probably to get the tools for dismantling the windmill. Damn shame, really. Galen and Zana were already halfway down the grassy path that led back into the woods. Burke hung back to wait for his commander.

Who still had his hand gripped by the old farmer, who clearly struggled to let him go. For a second, Burke saw the gorilla throw Al over his shoulder and sprint down to the barn like King Kong. That gorilla had also had a taste for blondes, though Burke didn't think Polar's motives were remotely romantic. He shook his head to get rid of that ridiculous image.

„What were you two lovebirds whispering into each other's ear?" he teased when Virdon finally caught up with him. Virdon smiled and looked up into the sky.

„We were talking about seeds - and how the good ones can sleep in the desert for years before they suddenly spring to life."

„Oh, the subtlety is killin' me," Burke scoffed. „But yeah, let's hope you got some good ideas into their thick skulls."

„Well, you did your part there, too, Pete," Virdon said innocently. „I heard you learned a lot from that ape Lincoln..."


	7. Chapter 7

**Earth, 2077**

Chris was on his way to one of his tutoring sessions with the professor when she was suddenly beside him, seemingly out of nowhere. He had been going over his last lesson - Hasslein could get really nasty if you didn’t know the answers - and there was Gina Lombardi, a large green felt bag slung over her shoulder, and with a big, friendly smile on her face, as if they had parted after school only yesterday. „Hi.“

She hadn’t really changed since he had seen her two years ago. Round face, straight black hair - she still wore it loose, only with a bright scarf to keep it out of her face - still a penchant for those gigantic wooden loops dangling from her earlobes. She was wearing loose, flowing robes from that African superstar designer. Apparently, she had discovered the fashion magazines of her girlfriends, which dictated that all the girls had to wear them. On her, it looked at least halfway okay.

The sight of her made Chris’ stomach flip, that queasy, burning sensation before you throw up. It wasn’t that he didn’t like her; at one time, he had liked her so much that he hadn’t been thinking of much else but her, especially during biology classes. Like on the day they had told him about Dad’s ship.

Somehow, that day and Gina Lombardi had become fused in his mind, and the sight of her brought it back, all the dread and all the agony.

„Uhm... I haven’t seen you for a while,“ Gina said hesitantly, and he realized that he hadn’t said anything after she had greeted him.

Maybe she’d leave if he didn’t say anything now, either. So he just shrugged.

But Gina was nothing if not persistent. „You go to that other school now, right? I heard you moved.“

„Yeah.“ He still wasn’t really talking with her. Chris made a show of glancing at his watch - maybe she’d get the hint.

If Gina was getting his hints, and there was no way she didn’t get them, she ignored them, which meant he’d have to put up with her until she ran out of small talk. „But you already changed schools before that! Was it because of... you know, because of what happened?“

Chris fought the urge to laugh. The loss of the _Icarus_ had been on all channels 24/7 for _months_ , and here was Gina, avoiding the name to spare his feelings! He let out an exasperated sigh. „There were always reporters hanging around school, so...“

It hadn’t been the only reason. It had taken his mother a few weeks to realize what was going on, but finally Mr. Forrester had asked her about the sick notes piling up in the school’s email account, and then he and his mom and Mr. Forrester had had a long meeting in his office.

He just hadn’t been able to go back there. Every time he’d set a foot into the building, his heart had begun to race and he’d felt sick to his stomach.

Like now. Gina was like one of those too brightly-lit hallways, bringing back That Day in full 3D, sounds, sights, and sensations.

Chris stopped.

„Y’know, it was nice seeing you and all, but I gotta go. I have an appointment-“

„With Professor Hasslein,“ Gina nodded.

The prickling sensation was back, from his chest down to his fingertips. Something like hot water rushed up his neck and over his scalp, humming in his ears and clouding his vision.

Gina stood pressed against the wall of the building they had been passing, eyes dark and huge. His fist was bungled in the collar of her shirt.

He couldn’t remember slamming her into the wall. His heart was hammering against his breastbone, each beat aching as if someone was squeezing it in a giant fist. „How do you know about the professor? _Have you been stalking me?“_

Gina frantically shook her head. „No! No, I just... I saw you a while back at the astrophysics institute when, uh, when our class was there for orientation... we could sit in at lectures and there was a guided tour through the laboratories...“ She was babbling. Chris swallowed and let her go.

He hadn’t meant to scare her. He was scared himself. If Mom ever got wind from this tutoring deal he had with the professor, all hell would break loose. Maybe she’d even pack and move them to the other side of the country, like she had tried last fall. Then any chance to find Dad would be lost.

He couldn’t allow that to happen. He had to make sure Gina would keep silent about his meetings with the professor to everyone, even if that meant he had to scare her.

So he got into her face again. Gina jerked back and winced when she collided with the wall; she was pale under her tan. „Have you told anyone about me and professor Hasslein?“ Chris demanded to know.

Gina wordlessly shook her head, and he took a step back to give her some breathing space. „Swear that you won’t tell anyone! Not even my mom!“

She stared at him, shock replacing her fear for a moment. „You mom doesn’t know? But why...“

„Not your business!“ Chris snapped. Mom just hated the professor because he had designed Dad’s ship, and she made him responsible for the accident that had hurled it through time - but that was something he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, the professor had said, because most people were too stupid to understand temporal dynamics anyway - and she just put up with him because he had promised her to build another ship to find Dad.

But Gina didn’t have to know all that. She just had to fall into line. „Swear that you won’t rat me out!“

Gina took a deep breath. „I swear that I won’t tell anyone about your meetings with Professor Hasslein... by the starlight in our souls.“

That was the oath of the Oh-Tau, the spiritual peacekeeper aliens from _Bridge of Stars._ All the girls loved the blue-skinned space elves and their poetic nonsense. Chris was having none of that. „No. I want the other one.“

„Why?“ Gina asked shyly. The look in her eyes had changed; Chris hoped she felt the same sudden stab he felt whenever one of the Drûk-Tal uttered their oath.

„Because.“ Because he thought of Dad every time he heard it, every time he said it. He said it every night before he went to bed.

Maybe it would make her understand.

„I’ll swear...“ Gina said with a trembling voice, „but only if you tell me what you’re doing there, when you meet with Professor Hasslein. I want to know _all_ about it,“ she added in a firmer voice before he could say anything.

Chris chewed on his lip, watching her face. He hadn’t told anyone - there wasn’t anyone who’d understand. But Gina was a fellow _Bridger_. And she’d be oath-bound.

And he desperately needed someone he could tell about the mission.

So he nodded. „Agreed.“ That’s what Cpt. Harris always said.

Gina took a deep breath. „I swear, _by my father’s blood,_ that I won’t tell anyone.“

His breath came easier all of a sudden. „Okay. Okay then.“

He suddenly realized that he’d be late; that was another thing the professor got nasty about. Chris turned to go. After a dozen steps, Gina caught up with him, their fight forgotten. „So, what _are_ you two doing in the lab?“

„He’s giving me physics lessons.“

Gina made a face. „That doesn’t sound very exciting.“

„It’s pretty advanced stuff,“ though it would probably be hopeless to try to explain it to her. So he just said, „I need to know about it, because I’m going to be in command of the ship they’re building to find my dad.“

That did impress her. „Wow. You’ll be like Cpt. Harris!“ She was silent for a moment. „But they won’t let anyone our age fly a ship.“

„They have to build it first,“ Chris said. „When she’s ready, I’ll be, too.“ That’s what Hasslein had told him. He liked it - it was as if he and the ship were comrades growing up together, sharing the same purpose.

„How long until lift-off?“ Gina wanted to know.

Chris shrugged. „Maybe another ten years.“

„That’s a long time to wait for your dad,“ Gina said softly. Chris didn’t answer; he had tried to imagine that day when he’d see Dad again, but he couldn’t picture himself as an adult. It was just... like a blank space.

Suddenly he felt Gina’s hand in his. „I’m gonna wait with you.“

And somehow, those ten years didn’t feel so suffocating anymore.


End file.
